NOAA’s Mussel Watch Program initiated monitoring in the Great Lakes in 1992, collecting zebra and quagga mussels at sites ranging from as far west as Duluth, Minnesota, across the Great Lakes, and eastward to Cape Vincent, New York. Chemical analyses of the contaminants in mussel tissue provide a wealth of environmental monitoring data that can be used to: 1) track: the status and trends of 150+ contaminants in the Great Lakes, 2) track the effectiveness of pollution prevention legislation and remediation programs, and 3) assess the environmental impacts in the event of catastrophic environmental disasters.

Publications:

Partner Agencies: 

U.S. EPA Region 5, Great Lakes National Program Office
U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development
University of Wisconsin – School of Freshwater Sciences
U.S. Geological Survey
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation
University of North Carolina–Charlotte
Hollings Marine Laboratory / National Institute of Standards and Technology
NOAA Office of Response and Restoration
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

Contact: 

Ed Johnson, Physical Scientist
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, NOAA
E-mail: Ed.Johnson@noaa.gov
Phone: (301) 713-3028 x149

Kimani Kimbrough, Physical Scientist
National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, NOAA
E-mail: Kimani.Kimbrough@noaa.gov
Phone: (301) 713-3028 x114

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