Grantee Research Project Results
Final Report: Onondaga Lake/Seneca River EMPACT Site
EPA Grant Number: R827966Title: Onondaga Lake/Seneca River EMPACT Site
Investigators: Effler, Steven W. , Saunders, D. A. , Gelda, Rakesh K. , Brooks, C. M. , O'Donnell, D. M. , Michalenko, E. M. , Doerr O'Donnell, Susan M. , Driscoll, Charles T. , Hassett, J.
Institution: Syracuse City School District , The State University of New York
EPA Project Officer: Packard, Benjamin H
Project Period:
Project Amount: $499,999
RFA: Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) (1999) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Environmental Statistics , Water , Aquatic Ecosystems , Air , Ecological Indicators/Assessment/Restoration
Objective:
Onondaga Lake is arguably the most polluted lake in the United States. Fishing and swimming are prohibited, and several water-quality standards are routinely violated. Adjoining portions of the Seneca River are tightly linked to the lake with respect to water quality, ecological concerns, and management issues. Reliable polling results indicate that although an overwhelming majority of local residents (> 90%) know that these systems are severely polluted, they have little specific knowledge of why this is (< 50%) or how to rectify the situation. In 1998, local, state, and federal authorities agreed on a 15-year staged program ($400+ million) to address the impacts of sewage pollution on the lake and river. This program requires continuous monitoring. A consortium of organizations (Syracuse City School District, SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, Upstate Freshwater Institute, Onondaga Lake Cleanup Corp., Innovative Engineering & Technology, and Syracuse University) from the Syracuse area conveys critical near real‑time (NRT) data, taken by remote monitoring platforms in the lake and river, to the public and to the research community via a variety of public education forums.
The objectives of this research project were to:
- apply and advance innovative remote monitoring technology to meet the acute present and future monitoring needs for Onondaga Lake and the Seneca River;
- redress the community’s lack of understanding concerning the degraded conditions of these ecosystems;
- and promote excellence in teaching, learning, and research.
The lasting benefits of this Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) project will include:
- addition of critical capabilities to the long-term monitoring program;
- creation of vehicles to communicate important characteristics and findings to all stakeholders;
- and a community that is more engaged in critical environmental decisionmaking.
Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):
Remote Monitoring and Data Collection
Innovative remote water-quality monitoring technology has been successfully applied and critical monitoring needs met for Onondaga Lake and the Seneca River, located in metropolitan Syracuse, NY. Onondaga Lake has been described as the most polluted lake in the United States, associated with the long-term reception of both domestic and industrial waste. A costly long-term rehabilitation program is underway to reclaim the resources of this lake. The Seneca River, which receives outflow from Onondaga Lake, also is highly impacted. Furthermore, the feasibility of management alternatives to rehabilitate the lake depends critically on the water quality (e.g., assimilative capacity) of the river.
Three (rather than two) computer-driven remote underwater robotic monitoring platforms, equipped with a powerful array of water-quality sensors, were deployed on these systems during the two EMPACT grant years (2000 and 2001). Measurements included:
- temperature;
- specific conductivity;
- dissolved oxygen;
- pH;
- turbidity;
- chlorophyll (fluorescence);
- redox potential;
- up - and down-welling irradiance (lake only);
- and meteorological measurements (lake only: wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, and incident irradiance).
Systems were successfully implemented to manage, process, and deliver the collected data to a dedicated public Web site (http://www.ourlake.org Exit ) in NRT. Web site libraries were developed to describe the project, provide background on the monitored systems and parameters, and report the NRT data in engaging formats.
The Web site’s demanding applications have resulted in substantial improvements in the contributing technologies. Based on these experiences, insights, and demands, the robotic monitoring platforms (Apprise Technologies TM ) have become physically more robust, with increased flexibility to meet a wider array of monitoring strategies (e.g., combinations of frequency/depth scenarios). Our identification of systematic limitations in underwater irradiance measurements led to a product upgrade by the probe manufacturer that is now available to all users. Temporal coverage of the primary robotic monitoring platform increased from about 68 percent in 2000 to 95 percent in 2001 because of these upgrades.
A number of water-quality signatures were clearly depicted by the robotic monitoring platforms. Signatures resolved in Onondaga Lake included:
- dynamics and characteristics of the thermal stratification;
- seasonal entry of tributaries as plunging interflows;
- progression of the depletion of hypolimnetic oxygen;
- depletion of oxygen and subsequent recovery in the upper layers during the fall mixing interval;
- seasonal increases in epilimnetic pH (photosynthetic activity) and decreases in hypolimnetic pH;
- occurrences of phytoplankton blooms (chlorophyll maxima);
- temporal variations in epilimnetic turbidity, driven largely by dynamics in phytoplankton biomass;
- progressive reduction in redox potential in the bottom waters following the loss of oxygen;
- and documentation of wind events responsible for upwelling events.
Signatures resolved in the Seneca River included:
- impacts of the zebra mussel invasion (reductions in chlorophyll, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, and pH);
- and occurrence of stratification downstream of the lake input and coupled oxygen depletion.
This EMPACT project has a number of achievements related to the:
- demonstration of increased research capabilities;
- development of a sustaining program of robotic monitoring;
- development of regional robotic monitoring networks;
- integration of robotic monitoring capabilities into the long-term monitoring program for these systems;
- and integration of robotic monitoring into early warning capabilities for surface waters.
Members of the project team have utilized the robotic monitoring capabilities to advance research (via peer-reviewed publications) on estimates of primary production and fluxes of gases across the air-water interface, and the development of long-term monitoring strategies. More than 10 presentations were made at professional conferences based on this EMPACT site. The robotic monitoring capabilities demonstrated at this site have evolved into larger Central New York and New York State ongoing monitoring programs, which is now (2004) the largest of its kind in the United States. This network is delivering water-quality data in NRT to managers, regulators, scientists, academia, and the public for a diverse array of aquatic ecosystems. The robotic monitoring capabilities that were established and successfully tested under this grant have become a critical component of the ongoing overall monitoring program for the lake and river. The monitoring platforms have replaced program elements that previously were performed manually. Such capabilities will resolve the responses of these systems to ongoing and costly rehabilitation efforts. Project staff from this site are leaders in initiatives to integrate this NRT monitoring with mathematical models to develop NRT water-quality modeling capabilities (an existing example is meteorological forecasting). These capabilities have utility in wastewater management and early warning protection of water supplies and are presently being developed by the EMPACT site team. The robotic monitoring platforms acquired under this grant continue to operate and deliver critical water-quality data in NRT to all interested stakeholders (http://www.ourlake.org Exit ).
Educational and Community Monitoring Elements
Onondaga Lake and its surrounding neighborhoods have a rich history that uniquely matches that of the developing world. Local policies and practices, which led to the current conditions of the lake, parallel those found in regional, national, and international contexts. This makes our community an effective model for the study of global concepts using “backyard” issues and experiences. The Syracuse EMPACT project brought together educators and scientists to develop instructional resources utilizing data streams from the robotic buoys as a basis for the development of high-quality instructional programs. These resources provided our community and our schools with valuable tools to help learners explore real-world issues using daily observations and experiences. The materials developed through this project connected students’ own experiences with the knowledge and skills necessary to be successful adults and informed and productive citizens.
Instructional resources were developed for three primary venues within the community. They are:
- Onondaga Lake Park, which encompasses 1,110 acres and encircles the northern end of Onondaga Lake. The park is visited by 800,000 people each year. The Syracuse EMPACT project developed interpretative pamphlets, trail signs, and exhibits. Guided tours were conducted on Saturdays during the spring and fall. An informative audio tour also was developed for the park’s tram that shuttles visitors to points along the eastern shore of the lake.
- The R.J. Rubenstein Museum of Science and Technology in Syracuse, NY, hosts 100,000 visitors each year. The Syracuse EMPACT project developed an interactive kiosk that provides access to the buoy’s data stream (http://www.ourlake.org Exit ), as well as experiences to help learners interpret the data and apply it to the geologic and social history of the lake.
- The Syracuse City School District supports 28,000 students in grades pre-Kindergarten through 12. The Syracuse EMPACT project developed instructional units for grades six through eight. These units include lesson designs and science equipment and utilize the Onondaga Lake issues and data stream to provide quality instructional programming. These units:
- involve real-world topics and issues;
- require students to develop products that meet an authentic purpose;
- interest audiences beyond the school community;
- make a positive impact on the community; and
- prepare students to meet and exceed expectations as described in Local and State Learning Standards.
The Syracuse EMPACT project also provides technical assistance in developing district curricula. Onondaga Lake issues, modeling of the lake’s ecosystem, and analysis of the data streams from the project’s buoys have become components in the District’s instructional programs. Science, mathematics, English/language arts, and social studies curricula for grades K through 12 contain components from this project.
Journal Articles on this Report : 2 Displayed | Download in RIS Format
Other project views: | All 8 publications | 2 publications in selected types | All 2 journal articles |
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Type | Citation | ||
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Effler SW, O’Donnell DM, Owen CJ. America’s most polluted lake: Using robotic buoys to monitor the rehabilitation of Onondaga Lake. Journal of Urban Technology 2002;9(2):21-44. |
R827966 (Final) |
not available |
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Gelda RK, Effler SW. Estimating oxygen exchange across the air-water interface of a hypereutrophic lake. Hydrobiologia 2002;487(1):243-254. |
R827966 (Final) |
Exit Exit |
Supplemental Keywords:
limnology, ecological effects, Northeast, EPA Region 2, New York, NY, ecosystem protection/environmental exposure and risk, geographic area, EPA Region, ecology and ecosystems, ecosystem protection, ecosystem/assessment/indicators, environmental monitoring, monitoring/modeling, social science, EMPACT, Onondaga Lake, Region 2, Seneca River, community outreach, community water quality information system, community-based approach, ecological condition, ecological exposure, stakeholders, water quality,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, Geographic Area, Ecosystem Protection/Environmental Exposure & Risk, Ecosystem/Assessment/Indicators, Ecosystem Protection, Monitoring/Modeling, Ecological Effects - Environmental Exposure & Risk, Environmental Monitoring, Ecology and Ecosystems, Ecological Risk Assessment, EPA Region, Social Science, EMPACT, limnology, ecological condition, ecological effects, ecological exposure, community-based approach, Onondaga Lake, Seneca River, community water quality information system, web site development, community outreach, water quality, stakeholdersRelevant Websites:
Progress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.