Lake Ontario
Monitoring Lake Ontario: Nearshore Buoy Network
From May through October, three nearshore buoys along the southern shore of Lake Ontario are maintained by UFI and provide near real-time environmental data critical for understanding lake dynamics. These buoys, located at Oak Orchard, Sodus Point, and Oswego, are part of a collaborative effort to enhance water quality research and monitoring in the Great Lakes system.
While freshwater research often slows down in winter, UFI keeps moving forward! As part of our mission to advance freshwater research, our team has developed innovative over-winter systems that collect, record, and remotely transmit data on Lake Ontario's temperature, turbidity, and wave activity. Because nearshore ice can damage the traditional summer buoys, they are removed each fall. To continue monitoring during the winter months, UFI designed a specialized "winter stick" buoy system. This durable setup includes an enclosed float and antennae that connects to an underwater data logger via a network of cables, subsurface floats, and small anchors, all engineered to withstand harsh winter and ice conditions. One of our early designs, developed in 2022, was featured in an article by the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS), highlighting the innovative work of our Senior Engineer, David O'Donnell.
Click a location below to see the most recently collected and historical data!
About the Lake Ontario Buoys
Summer Buoy Design: Each buoy features a yellow, six-foot diameter dense foam float with a mast extending approximately nine feet (3 meters) above the water.
Temperature Chains: Below the surface, sensors are spaced every meter from the surface to the lakebed, capturing a detailed temperature profile in Lake Ontario.
Meteorological Measurements: Air temperature, humidity, wind speed/direction, barometric pressure, and solar radiation data are collected each day during the summer.
Advanced Sensors: Two of our Ontario buoys (Oak Orchard and Oswego) are equipped with an underwater wave height sensor.
Winter Buoy Design: A winter stick containing a cellular modem connects to underwater sensors and temperature chains to provide year-round monitoring on Lake Ontario.
Collaborative Effort
The buoys are owned by the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) and operated by UFI under the Great Lakes Research Consortium (GLRC). Data are accessible on our site as well as the Great Lakes Observing System's (GLOS) Seagull data portal, offering researchers, students, and the public valuable insights into the Great Lakes environment.
Support and Partnerships
Funding for the summer Oak Orchard and Sodus Point buoys is provided by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The summer Oswego buoy and overwinter monitoring is funded by the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS). Additional services are provided by the Port of Oswego Marina, Ernst Lake's Breeze Marina at Oak Orchard, Katlynn Marine at Sodus Bay, and RoboShop Inc.
Our Lake Ontario buoys weigh about one ton!
We maintain the buoys in all sorts of weather!
clippedAWACleveling - Made with Clipchamp.mp4Our UFI divers deploying the Acoustic Wave and Current (AWAC) profiler at Oswego. They bring a standard level down to 80 ft to ensure it is placed perfectly!