The Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) is a laboratory in the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

(NOAA)

Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR) is a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). OAR is also referred to as NOAA Research. NOAA Research is the research and development arm of NOAA and is the driving force beh ...

(OAR). It is headquartered in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, with a subsidiary field station in

Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...

. GLERL is a multidisciplinary environmental research laboratory that provides scientific understanding to inform the use and management of

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...

and coastal marine environments. It is one of seven NOAA Research Laboratories (RLs).

History

GLERL was created 25 April 1974 when NOAA merged part of the pre-existing Lake Survey Center (the Limnology and Computer Divisions) with the staff of the International Field Year of the Great Lakes (IFYGL) office. IFYGL had taken place the previous year 1972–1973. The first director was Eugene Aubert (1974-1986). In February 2025 the GLERL communication services was forced to go on an "indefinite Hiatus" due to 20% of the staff being fired by the

Office of Personnel Management The United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is an independent agency of the United States government that manages the United States federal civil service. The agency provides federal human resources policy, oversight, and support, a ...

Awards

* The ''Huron Explorer'', a 41-foot (13 m) former U.S. Coast Guard vessel, was refurbished to use vegetable based fuels and lubricants rather than petroleum based. The Department of Energy gave an award to NOAA for the vessel as part of the

Federal Energy Management Program The United States Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) promotes energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy resources at federal sites, helping agencies save energy, save taxpayer dollars, and demonstrate leadership with responsible, cl ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Great Lakes Organizations based in Ann Arbor, Michigan