Up and Running
Northwest Michigan Buoy Data Now Available

Live meteorological data from an automated buoy in west Grand Traverse Bay is now available to anyone with an Internet connection. Some of measurements collected include wind speed, wave height, current speed and direction, and surface water temperature.

The solar-powered buoy transmits data six times per hour via radio signal to a computer server at Northwest Michigan College in Traverse City. Researchers at the University of Michigan Hydrodynamics Laboratory manage the data, which is updated every 10 minutes.

A collaborative team launched the high-tech buoy in July as part of an effort to learn more about the dynamics of northern Lake Michigan. The northwest Michigan buoy is one of several operational buoys that are part of a developing Great Lakes Observing System, modeled after the Integrated Ocean Observing System being deployed across the world’s oceans.

Buoy data will be valuable to a broad community of users, says Michigan Sea Grant Extension Educator Mark Breederland, including educators, students, commercial and recreational anglers, boaters, the National Weather Service, and local meteorologists.

“Real-time data present some great opportunities to engage students and the public in learning about the Great Lakes online,” says Breederland, who notes that the Great Lakes Children’s Museum in Traverse City is now streaming real-time information from the buoy. “It’s an exciting opportunity for people to learn more about weather and its impact on the Great Lakes.”

The Coastal Monitoring Buoy (CMB) is owned by the Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (NA & ME), College of Engineering, University of Michigan and is operated by the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratories (MHL).

See: Access to northwest Michigan buoy data

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