Generally, ports in the North American Great Lakes are not supported with navigational guidance (water level, water temperature, currents, ice) by NOAA’s Great Lakes Operational Forecast System (GLOFS). To examine the benefit of extending model coverage to this critical infrastructure, a linked hydrologic-hydrodynamic framework was developed for the Twin Ports of Duluth-Superior in western Lake Superior, and tested over three...

Moorings equipped with thermistors that span the water column were deployed at up to seven locations throughout Lake Superior from October 2005 through May 2013. This year‐round, multi‐year, multi‐location, full water‐column record of the thermal structure reveals significant inter‐annual and spatial variability in Lake Superior's winter heat content, thermocline depth, and phenology. There is a stark contrast in thermal struc...