Research Specialist Jessie Grow was featured in a recent Environmental Monitor article on the development of National Marine Sanctuary’s “Shipwreck Sentinel” buoy. Grow is part of a collaborative effort by UWM-SFS and NOAA working on the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast Sentinel project in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. It aims to deploy a real-time system to improve forecasting, support public safety decisions, and provide insights for researchers.
Grow explains, “Nearshore conditions in mid-Lake Michigan can change quickly, yet historically there have been few site-specific, continuously operating observing platforms in this region.” In 2023, a grant from the Fund for Lake Michigan helped expand the Wisconsin Shipwreck Coast Sentinel project.
In 2022, WSCNMS started a pilot project that demonstrated the need for real-time lake data. The initial system used during the pilot comprised three small, “smart moorings” deployed within the WSCNMS and equipped to provide real-time wind, wave, and water temperature measurements.
“While these buoy systems have helped improve overall coverage and confirmed strong user engagement,” Grow says, “Their design limits the types of measurements they can support, including water quality and current profiles. Additionally, some parameters are estimated rather than directly measured.”