Great Lakes Alliance for Remote Sensing (GLARS)

Great Lakes Coastal Wetland Monitoring in 4D

The Great Lakes coastal wetlands are part of the largest surface freshwater reserve in the world. Due to their dynamic nature, these wetlands are particularly vulnerable to change. The Great Lakes Alliance for Remote Sensing (GLARS) seeks to study and provide the resources necessary to map, measure and monitor this unique ecosystem for restoration, conservation and management.

Check out more on the GLARS collaborative effort at glars.org.

Great Lakes Outline

What

GLARS uses a four-dimensional approach (x, y, z, plus time dimension) to provide spatial data to managers throughout the Great Lakes region.

Remote sensing products are used to produce detailed coastal wetland maps, quantify water levels and inundation extents, track invasive species spread, develop digital surface models, update the National Wetland Inventory (NWI) and to quantify wetland gain and loss.

Cattail Image

Why

Great Lakes wetland managers, citizens and government leaders are observing more rapid change with coastal wetlands and associated habitats around the Basin due to human and climate actions.

Satellite and aerial views are essential, cost effective, and scientific management tools used to track and observe wetland and associated habitat changes over time, covering large areas like the Great Lakes.

People Outline

Who

GLARS is a bi-national collaboration between Michigan Tech Research Institute, University of Minnesota, Canadian Centre for Remote Sensing, Environment and Climate Change Canada, PGC, and SharedGeo, funded through the USFWS, and the EPA.

Our team has been working together since 2016 to develop a framework to better measure change in coastal wetlands throughout the Great Lakes.

Satellite

How

Multi-temporal, sub-meter optical (U.S., NGA-WorldView2/3) and radar satellite imagery (Canada, Radarsat-2, NGA-C-band) are used alone and in combination with state-of-the-art algorithms and classifiers to produce routine products of wetland hydrologic characteristics and dominant ecotype changes over time. Elevation data from Digital Surface Models (Worldview stereo pairs) and wetland water level changes (Radarsat-2 InSAR, Canadian collaborators) are incorporated to provide a 4-D representation of Great Lakes coastal wetlands