The St. Louis River is the largest tributary to Lake Superior and enters the southwest corner of the lake between Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin. In 1987, the lower St. Louis River was designated as one of the 43 Great Lakes Areas of Concern (AOCs), representing the most severely impacted areas in the Great Lakes Basin. Due to historic habitat loss and release of waste materials that contaminated sediments and waters, nine beneficial uses were listed as impaired for the St. Louis River. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) work together to define and implement remedial action plans to remove the impairments and delist the St. Louis River as an Area of Concern.
As part of that process, the MPCA and WDNR are making publicly available in DIVER the relevant chemical and biological studies that will assist them in evaluating the St. Louis River recovery.
St Louis River Studies
St. Louis River Studies
The following table includes a list of all St. Louis River studies that have been added to DIVER. Data category indicates the type of data, including Samples (contaminant chemistry and/or non-chemistry laboratory data), Field Observations (field-collected data), and Bioassay (toxicity assay data). Records include the number of unique analyses, or measured parameters, per sample or observation.
A breakdown of the record count by data source (the originating owner of the dataset) and matrix is included below for Samples data.
In addition to DIVER Explorer, users can access and download scientific data through ERDDAP. Queries are flexible and can be optimized for users seeking large data downloads or specific queries related to a known dataset.
Users can also access the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA), a mapping and visualization tool. For example, you can view the extent of the St. Louis River Assessment Areas.
