GLUCOS: The Great Lakes Urban Coastal Observing System

We are developing an aquatic observatory to observe and study near-shore processes in Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes Urban Coastal Observing System (GLUCOS) is designed to make both long-term measurements and transient event measurements of river-harbor-lake interactions that occur in Milwaukee Harbor and the adjacent Milwaukee Bay region of Lake Michigan. Two large "Endurance" buoys will be emplaced north and south of the Harbor. These buoys will perform long-term observations and measurements of the benthos, water column, the surface, and the air-water interface. A series of up to 10 smaller "Pioneer" buoys will serve as a rapid deployment system to measure transient phenomena. The Pioneer buoys can also be customized to serve as controllers for larger specialized instruments such as sediment samplers. Both types of buoys will employ a common core consisting of an ARM-based computer that runs the LINUX operating system and open-source control code. Data will be streamed to the WATER Institute via radio modems. These links will also permit scientists to receive data in real time as well as to alter the functions of the buoys based on current data. This paper describes the motivation of the GLUCOS system, the technical design of the buoys, and the current operational state of the system