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Buoy data access

CSV (Excel-readable) format

LocationData Type
All dataMeteorologyWater TempWavesBiology/Chemistry
McQuade, MN nearshore ALL 2024 MET 2024 WT 2024 WAV 2024 BIO 2024
McQuade, MN offshore ALL 2024 MET 2024 WT 2024 WAV 2024 BIO 2024
Two Harbors, MN nearhore ALL 2024 MET 2024

MATLAB format

McQuade, MN nearshore
McQuade, MN offshore
Two Harbors, MN nearshore

Data Description

A range of data types is collected by a set of buoys in western Lake Superior. Data is transmitted by the buoys every 10 minutes to a computer at the Large Lakes Observatory which processes the data and makes it available online. Data has a time resolution of 10 minutes for all fields.

The data is available in two formats: CSV (Comma-separated values) format, which is easy to read into Excel or any platform that can read a flat text file, and MATLAB, a popular platform for data analysis. In the case of the CSV files, the data is broken up into several files: meteorological parameters, water temperature, waves, and biochemical parameters. Fields and units are specified in the first two rows of each table. Not all parameters are available on every buoy. All data are reported in metric units. Time is in UTC (Coodinated Universal Time; CDT +5h)

Meteorology

  • ATMP: Air Temperature, C.
  • SWTMP: Surface water temperature, C. This is the same data as the first column in the water temperature variable, WTMP.
  • RH: Relative humidity, %
  • DEWP: Dew Point, C
  • PRES: Barometric pressure, adjusted to sea level
  • WSPD: Wind speed, m/s
  • WDIR: Wind direction, degrees true (0: wind is from the north; 90: wind is from the east, etc)
  • GST: Wind gust speed, m/s

Water temperature

  • WTMP: Water temperature, C, at a range of depths. In the CSV files, the depth of each measurement is noted in the header. In the MATLAB files, the depth of each sensor is in a variable called dep.

Waves

  • WVHT: Wave height, meters.
  • MWD: Mean wave direction, degrees true
  • DPD: Dominant wave period, seconds.

Biology and chemistry

We measure a variety of biological and chemical parameters using YSI EXO2 sondes. The sensor is approximately 1m deep on all three buoys.
  • CHL: chl-a fluoresence, RFU (relative fluoresence units)
  • BGA: blue-green algae fluoresence, RFU
  • pH: pH, pH units
  • TURB: Turbidity, NTU (nephelometric turbidity units)
  • DOmgl: Dissolved Oxygen, mg/l
  • DOpct: Dissolved Oxygen, % saturation

About the buoys

The western Lake Superior Buoys are maintained by the University of Minnesota Duluth Large Lakes Observatory, with funding from the Great Lakes Observing System and the National Science Foundation. They operate during the ice-free months each year, and are typically deployed in mid to late spring, and recovered in mid to late fall.

We are currently operating four buoys. Two are near McQuade Harbor, east of Duluth. Another is near Bark Point, WI on the south shore of the western arm. A fourth buoy is deployed as part of an NSF-funded study of springtime convection, and is moored in 600' deep water about 50km south of Grand Marais, MN.

University of Minnesota Duluth
Large Lakes Observatory
Great Lakes Observing System