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NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health
View
the Brochure
(PDF)
About the Center
What is the CEGLHH?
The NOAA Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health (CEGLHH) is a multi-disciplinary research center which will focus on understanding the inter-relationships between the Great Lakes ecosystem, water quality and human health. The Center will focus on using ecosystem forecasting to minimize risks to human health in coastal environments.
The overall purpose of the Center is to use a multidisciplinary approach to understand and forecast coastal-related human health impacts for natural resource and public policy decision-making.
Why is this important?
The Great Lakes are the nation's single most important aquatic resource and can impact human health.
- Largest freshwater source in the world
- 10% of the population in the U.S.
- Over 500 recreational beaches
- 90% of U.S. surface drinking water
- Provides drinking water to 40 million U.S. and Canadian citizens
- $4 billion commercial and sport fishing business
Human health is profoundly affected by water quality in the Great Lakes.The lack of integrated scientific investigation on waterborne microbial pathogens at multiple scales has prevented a sound scientific risk-based approach for predicting and preventing waterborne disease occurrences.
There are many factors that contribute to ocean health and in turn, human health. The aim of the Center is to understand the interactions between these factors using hydrology, climate, metereology and other scientific disciplines. The work at GLERL will focus on tying these processes together to create better predictions of water quality, beach closures and the occurance of harmful algal blooms.
How was the Center started?
In 2004, the NOAA Office of Global Programs competitively funded the Center of Excellence for Great Lakes and Human Health at the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) in Ann Arbor, MI. The Great Lakes Center is funded for five years and is one of three Centers in the United States (The other Centers are located at the Northewest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA and Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, SC).
What will the Center do?
The overall purpose of the Center is to use a multi-disciplinary approach to make forecasts to reduce the risk to human health in the Great Lakes in three main areas:
The Center will:
- Conduct research including laboratory work, field experimentation and computer modeling
- Apply new technologies and develop capabilities to provide public-domain forecasting methods
- Develop a strong outreach and education program for public and user communities
- Raise awareness of Great Lakes human health issues
Ecosystem Forecasting
Ecosystem forecasting predicts the effects of biological, chemical, physical, and human-induced changes on ecosystems and their components. It aids in:
- Improved decision making for coastal stewardship
- More effective prioritization of sciences, across disciplines
- Reductions in risks to human health
- Mitigation of natural events and human activities
- Enhanced communication between scientists and managers
More information: GLERL's Ecosystem Forecasting Research Program
Who will do this work?
There are twenty-four principal investigators and ten partner institutions within the Center, covering the fields of hydrodynamic modeling, water pollution microbiology, hydrology, etc.
Leadership
- Dr. Stephen Brandt, Director - NOAA GLERL
- Dr. Joan Rose, Professor - Michigan State University
- Dr. David Schwab, Physical Oceanographer - NOAA GLERL
Partners
- Michigan State University
- EPA Chicago
- EPA Athens
- U.S. Geological Survey
- Florida Institute of Oceanography
- NOAA NOS Beaufort Laboratory
- NOAA NOS Silver Spring
- University of Michigan
- Michigan Sea Grant
- Great Lakes Human Health Network
Outreach
Academic partnerships, student participation and visiting scientist opportunities will be encouraged. There will be strong coordination with local water quality managers at state and local levels. Outreach activities will be coordinated through the well-established Great Lakes Sea Grant Extension Program and will include a broad range of activities such as training institutes, public-access websites, newsletters, publications, advisory councils and workshops. The Center will become a focal point for the recently established Great Lakes Human Health Network.
Human Health and the Great Lakes in the News
More infomation: GLERL's Outreach Program
