The primary objectives are: 1) To develop a tool to measure the accessibility of safe surface water and coastal recreational resources to communities around southern Lake Michigan, and link this tool to models that support economic valuation of coastal recreation and tourism areas. The aim of this tool is to identify the benefits of investments in improving water quality and public access in legacy contaminated areas, particularly Areas of Concern. 2) To characterize the current marketing and retail chain for Great Lakes fish, and measure the potential for value-added products and marketing to consumers in the region. Possible products include publications and educational materials aimed at increasing the profitability of commercial fish production and consumer access to locally-sourced fish, both wild-caught and aquaculture.

To develop an AI-enhanced 3D reconstruction workflow that integrates UAV imagery with existing aerial and satellite data to generate high-resolution, real-time georeferenced models of coastal and watershed features in the southern Lake Michigan region. To apply this system to monitor and quantify environmental changes—such as shoreline erosion, dune morphology, stormwater runoff, and infrastructure vulnerability—before, during, and after extreme weather events or seasonal transitions. To evaluate the performance and accuracy of state-of-the-art reconstruction methods (VGGT, MASt3R, DUSt3R) for coastal applications, using ground-truth data (e.g., GNSS, LiDAR) to validate outputs and assess model limitations under varying conditions. To create an open-access toolkit and decision-support platform—including a web-based dashboard and immersive VR/MR interface—that enables stakeholders to visualize 3D results and extract actionable metrics (e.g., erosion rates, flood extent, asset risk). To engage with community stakeholders and IISG outreach specialists from project inception to ensure research findings are translated into practice through training workshops, user guides, and integration with local planning and public outreach efforts.

• Document the locations and diets of the invasive, PontoCaspian colonial hydroid, Cordylophora caspia in southern Lake Michigan
• Assess the feeding habits of C. caspia
• Determine whether the distribution of C. caspia is related to the presence of Dreissena polymorpha or D. bugensis as substrates

• Quantify the flux of carbon and phosphorus through the profundal quagga mussel community
• Determine the effect of these mussel-mediated fluxes on ecosystem-scale nutrient dynamics and energy flow

The overall goals of this project are to:

• Better understand coastal processes in terms of nearshore hydrodynamics, sediment transport, and coastal morphology under changing climate forcing in Lake Michigan
• Help effectively communicate to stakeholders, with the purpose of promoting sustainable shore protection, increasing the integrity of beaches; and stabilizing bluffs/dunes in Lake Michigan

This project aims to investigate the potential role of marine plastic debris as a vector for Perfluorinated Compounds (PFAS). Specific research questions are:

• To what extent do three common plastic types found in the environment act as a sink for select PFASs in Muskegon Lake?
• How important is the residence time of the materials present in these water bodies concerning the extent of PFAS accumulation?