National CoastWatch Program
CoastWatch provides a wide range of satellite environmental data to support the work of coastal scientists and resource managers in all U.S. coastal waters. NOAA CoastWatch is organized into a Central Operations office and six Regional Nodes:
Central Operations – Central Operations, which is managed by NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), coordinates the processing, delivery, quality control, and storage of data products.
Regional Nodes – Hosted at NOAA line offices located around the country, the distribution of the Regional Nodes allows for the development of satellite products and scientific expertise that are of regional importance.
- Great Lakes Regional Node
- Central Pacific Regional Node
- East Coast Regional Node
- Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico
- PolarWatch
- West Coast Regional Node
CoastWatch Great Lakes Regional Node
The CoastWatch Great Lakes Regional Node (GLN) provides rapid dissemination of satellite observation data to governmental, academic, commercial, and public users. The GLN was established in 1990. It is hosted by NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Who We Are
The Great Lakes CoastWatch Node is a regional node, with two components to CoastWatch: Central Operations and Regional Nodes. Central Operations, managed by NOAA’s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), coordinates the processing, delivery, quality control and storage of data products. The six regional nodes are affiliated with other NOAA line offices that participate in the CoastWatch Program. They are located around the country to provide data distribution and regional scientific expertise in oceanographic remote sensing to their regional and local user communities.
Our Mission
The CoastWatch mission is to provide access to near real-time and long-term satellite data to monitor, restore, and manage U.S. coastal and ocean resources, in addition to understanding ecosystems and climate to further enhance society’s quality of life. Our primary users include federal, state, and local coastal resource managers, marine scientists, commercial companies, and the general public.
Our Objective
The Great Lakes Node provides remote sensing data products and customized decision-making applications for regions around the Great Lakes. Anyone may access data free of charge. CoastWatch data is used by local managers and scientists in a variety of ways including ecological forecasting, monitoring algal blooms, tracking sediment plumes, and studying temperature effects on fish populations. We work with regional and local stakeholders to build customized applications for environmental management and decision-making. We are located at NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research