NOAA Sea to Sky: Education resource database

This expansive Great Lake photo collection includes a wide variety of photo galleries, including harmful algal blooms, fish, historical images, ice, environmental sampling, shipwrecks, restoration, and more. The collection is curated by the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory.

The National Weather Service Great Lakes Portal has an interactive map to explore real-time data and forecasted conditions, with a focus on hazards. View the data in the interactive map, in a data table, or in text.

View real-time images and data collected by Great Lakes buoy stations or explore the data collected by the stations over the past 15 years. This real-time Great Lakes observational data is collected over time by sensors on coastal buoys as part of NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory's Real-Time Coastal Observation Network (ReCON). Each of ReCON’s 16 buoy stations has a webcam, collects meteorological data, and provides sub-surface measurements of chemical, biological, and physical parameters (things like wave height, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, and water temperature).

The groundfish survey is part of SEAMAP — South East Area Monitoring and Assessment Program — a joint venture between NOAA and the states to better understand the populations of fish and shellfish along the coast of the Gulf and Atlantic. In this lesson, students will simulate the groundfish survey by classifying fish species and record their lengths. Students will then make graphs of their results and compare their findings. Finally, students will explore online maps to understand variations in habitat.

When surface water from snowpack-fueled rivers and reservoirs is running low, California’s natural reservoir of groundwater becomes vitally important. During a dry year, the Department of Water Resources estimates that groundwater, which is extracted from the ground through wells and pumps, provides close to 60 percent of the state’s water supply.

The Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Watch maps near real-time bottom dissolved oxygen data to monitor hypoxic conditions in the Gulf of Mexico.

Explore data on physical, biotic, living marine resources, socioeconomic conditions, environmental quality, and jurisdictions in the Gulf of Mexico.

Information on restoration projects in the Gulf states.

In this full-length web exclusive, National Geographic journeys along the remote Alaskan coast ... in search of garbage. A team of scientists and artists investigates the buildup of marine debris washing out of the great gyres, or currents, in the Pacific Ocean. Called the Gyre Expedition, their goal is to create art from the trash they find to raise awareness about its impact on the ocean and wildlife. Their artwork became part of a traveling exhibition in 2014.

Join Michigan Sea Grant for a series of fun-filled, family-friendly videos jam-packed full of Great Lakes (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior or “H.O.M.E.S.”) fun facts, activity suggestions for your family, and daily challenges. Each video provides a high-energy experience that engages people of all ages in learning about the Great Lakes and activities you can do right at home! Anyone who completes five challenges will be emailed a Great Lakes Jr. Scientist certificate to print and proudly display at home.