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The Great Lakes Sediment Database (also known as the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) Sediment Archive) is an archive of data on the sediments of the Great Lakes, their connecting channels, and the St. Lawrence River which was collected by NWRI and in cooperation with other agencies between 1960 and 1975. It is housed in Environment and Climate Change Canada's Canada Centre for Inland Waters in Burlington, Ontario. The data has been subdivided into two groups according to location and purpose:

1.Great Lakes Basin Sediment Data: physical and geochemical data for sediment samples and cores collected lakewide in lakes Ontario, Erie, St. Clair, Huron (including Georgian Bay), Michigan and Superior between 1960 and 1975 by R.L. Thomas, A.L.W.

The St. Clair was designated as one of the 43 Areas of Concern in accordance with Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). Remedial Action Plan (RAP) is an ongoing collaborative effort implemented by federal, provincial, and local governments as well as industry and public partners. There are 3 key stages of the RAP: Stage 1 is a detailed description of the environmental problem; Stage 2 identifies remedial actions and options; Stage 3 is the final document providing evidence that the beneficial uses have been restored and the AOC can be “delisted”. The St. Clair River, a key shipping channel in the Great Lakes Seaway system, flows 64 km from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair.

Water quality and ecosystem health data used to conduct a cumulative effects assessment of Lake Erie, St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and Detroit River nearshore waters in support of the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement are included in this dataset. Data related to nearshore stressors is integrated into an overall assessment in a three-phased approach: 1) classification of the nearshore into Regional Units using physical processes and lake characteristics; 2) overall assessment of the state (cumulative stress) of each Regional Unit; and 3) integrate additional information related to nearshore areas of high ecological value. Assessment data is presented within a 15 metre depth zone along the coast. For purposes of determining stress on nearshore waters it is necessary to consider the zones of influence and zones of impact.

Habitat and ecosystem data used to conduct a baseline survey of coastal habitat in Lake Erie, St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair and Detroit River are included in this dataset. The Lake Erie Survey methodology consists of four general steps; 1) delineating the coastal ecosystem into coastal units based on water flow, ecology, and geology; 2) selecting key habitat types including wetlands, uplands (natural and anthropogenic), tributaries, and inland lakes and ponds, and the measures to assess each habitat type and the entire coastal ecosystem; 3) conducting a spatial analysis and summarizing results; and 4) sharing results.

This dataset contains the fish health metrics (length, weight, gonad size, etc.) for Shorthead redhorse (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) and Golden redhorse (Moxostoma erythrurum) collected from two site locations (Stag Island, and Lake Huron) within the St. Clair River Area of Concern for 2003. Supplemental Information

Funding for this study was provided in part by the Government of Canada’s Great Lakes Action Plan (GLAP) and in support to St. Clair River Area of Concern. In 1987 under the revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, 43 areas of concern (AOC), 12 of which are located in Canada, were identified as having severely impaired beneficial uses and water quality.

The Great Lakes Migrant Waterfowl Surveys provide periodic data on waterfowl abundance, spatial and temporal distributions, and use along the shorelines of major water bodies and river systems in Ontario during mostly during spring and fall, and to a lesser extent during summer and winter, seasons. The primary survey area covers the shoreline and nearshore (~1km) waters of the Lower Great Lakes region of Ontario, specifically including the St. Lawrence River, Lake Ontario, Niagara River, Lake Erie, Detroit River and Lake St. Clair and associated major marshes and embayments. Aerial surveys, typically flown several times within spring (March –May: 1969, 1971, 1972, 1975 –1979, 1981, 1982, 1984 –1988, 1991 –1996, 1998 –2003 & 2009 –2011) and fall (September –December: 1968, 1970, 1971, 1974 –2003 & 2009 –2011) survey periods, have been conducted periodically on a relatively regular basis (approx. 5-10 years) along the Lower Great Lakes shorelines between 1968 and 2011.

Crew fall overboard after workboat struck by mooring line, Unregistered workboat belonging to the bulk carrier Manitoulin, St. Clair River, near Sombra, Ontario, 12 May 2020

The St. Marys River was designated as one of the 43 Areas of Concern in accordance with Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement (GLWQA). Remedial Action Plan (RAP) is an ongoing collaborative effort implemented by federal, provincial, and local governments as well as industry and public partners. There are 3 key stages of the RAP: Stage 1 is a detailed description of the environmental problem; Stage 2 identifies remedial actions and options; Stage 3 is the final document providing evidence that the beneficial uses have been restored and the AOC can be “delisted”. The St. Marys River is a 112-km international channel that flows from Lake Superior into the North Channel of Lake Huron.

This dataset contains the concentrations of contaminants found in individual and pooled captured Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens) and Shorthead Redhorse (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) from 5 site locations (Stag Island, Lake Huron, Walpole Marsh, Chanel Ecarte, and Chenal Ecarte/Port Lambton) within the St. Clair River Area of Concern. Supplemental Information

Funding for this study was provided in part by the Government of Canada’s Great Lakes Action Plan (GLAP) and in support to St. Clair River Area of Concern. In 1987 under the revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, 43 areas of concern (AOC), 12 of which are located in Canada, were identified as having severely impaired beneficial uses and water quality. As funded by the Great Lakes Action Plan, a Remedial Action Plan was formed for each area of concern bringing together experts from government, industry, municipalities and environmental non-government organizations to address these impacts.

Observations on various types of wetlands, terrestrial environments, and vascular plants for 864 sites visited in 2000 and 2001 along the St. Lawrence River, between Cornwall and Trois-Pistoles are included in this dataset. Since the 1990s, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has been monitoring changes in wetlands under the State of the St. Lawrence River Monitoring program of the St. Lawrence Action Plan.