Currently, Lake Erie is not being continuously and consistently monitored for plastic and waste pollution due to limited measurement capabilities beyond the assessment of Presque Isle Bay. Gannon University’s Environaut education and research vessel is past its end of life, is limited to the Bay, and is at capacity for days at sea.
The partners in this element of RESOLVE, specifically, the Erie Western PA Port Authority, Gannon University, and Penn State Behrend, seek to measure the effects of Lake Erie water and air quality on a year-round basis using a deep-water science ship (which would be the only ADA-compliant science ship on the Great Lakes), a second vessel to replace the Environaut, and a third vessel for shoreline research in addition to drone technology to develop standards of measurement for lake health.
The shallowest of the Great Lakes, Lake Erie experiences changes faster and more acutely than the larger and deeper Great Lakes, making it possible to more quickly assess the impact of new manufacturing practices and technologies on lake health.