Northern Border Protection
Lake Erie Environmental Studies
The SkySentry Aerostat System provides Persistent Surveillance over Lake Erie for:
- Monitoring Invasive Species
- Identification of Toxic Substances in “areas of concern”
- Near-shore Health and Pollution Prevention
- Habitat and Wildlife Protection
The High-Tech Aerostat monitoring system can reside 1000 - 3000 feet above Lake level for extended periods of time and surveille the Lake for various water and shore-line studies.
This one-of-a-kind Aerostat Operations System is available for lease : Please contact Dean Brainard - brainard@skysentry.net or 440-785-0545.
The Aerostat provides a persistent platform at 1000-3000 feet above ground level to host hyperspectral imaging systems and study aquatic invasive species in the Western Lake Erie Basin. This cost effective platform allows University of Toledo and University of Cincinnati professors to operate their multi-platform network of sensors to monitor the Lake for extended periods of time and augment their data sets already captured by satellites. However the new data sets captured from the aerostat will show greater detail and will offer persistent monitoring of the Lake versus images captured by satellites about once every 7 days.
The Aerostat will be positioned on Toledo Beach monitoring the Western Basin for Invasive Algae Species affecting the Lake Erie Fishing Industry and local beaches for the Regional Recreational Industry.
Below is an example of thick Blue Green Algae growing in early spring in the Western Lake Erie Basin. Photo courtesy of Dr. Richard Beck - University of Cincinnati.
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