This month, a basketball-sized Spotter buoy began sending data to the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS), making it the first buoy of its kind to be part of the GLOS network.

The buoy, deployed in Lake Superior on April 21, 2020 near Gay, Michigan, is operated by Michigan Technological University (MTU). It’s being used to support marine weather forecasts for dredging operations at the Keweenaw stamp sands near Buffalo Reef.