Routine monitoring of western Lake Erie to track water quality changes associated with cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms

Abstract. The western basin of Lake Erie has a history recurrent cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABs) despite decades efforts by the United States and Canada to limit phosphorus loading, major driver blooms. In response, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) Cooperative Institute for (CIGLR) created an annual sampling program detect, monitor, assess, predict HABs in (WLE). Here we describe data collected from this monitoring 2012 2021. This dataset includes observations on physicochemical properties, nutrient fractions, phytoplankton pigments, microcystins, optical properties Erie. is particularly relevant creating models, verifying calibrating remote sensing algorithms, informing experimental research further understand water quality dynamics that influence internationally significant body freshwater. can be freely accessed NOAA Centers Information (NCEI) at https://doi.org/10.25921/11da-3x54 (Cooperative Research, University Michigan Laboratory, 2019).