Duluth, Minn. — What happens when an oil spill occurs in the Great Lakes and surrounding watersheds?
It might surprise you to know that collaborative research networks from around the Great Lakes are actively working to improve communities’ ability to predict, prepare for, respond to, and recover from oil spills.
These groups are often interdisciplinary collaborations of scientists, industry employees, educators, and engineers — people who care about the health of the water, the people, their economies, and the environment.
The fall 2024 issue of the Lakes Letter, a quarterly digital magazine published by the International Association of Great Lakes Research, is entirely focused on oil-spill science and these collaborative research networks.
The Great Lakes, which are the world’s largest freshwater source, are a vital resource for millions of people. The lakes provide drinking water for 40 million people, support a thriving blue economy, and hold deep cultural significance for many Indigenous peoples. However, they are increasingly vulnerable to oil spills due to extensive use and transport of petroleum for power generation, manufacturing, and other industries.
“Over the past decade, domestic production of crude oil in both the United States and Canada has increased and spills of petroleum hydrocarbons within the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River region have become a growing concern,” said Kelsey Prihoda, Great Lakes transport extension educator with Minnesota Sea Grant and guest Lakes Letter editor. “From 2013 to 2019, over 1,000 oil and petroleum product spills occurred in the region, according to a 2024 U.S. National Response Center data analysis.”

Pipelines, which transport approximately 90% of petroleum hydrocarbons across North America, run adjacent to and underneath the Great Lakes and their major tributaries. In addition, the St. Lawrence Seaway, which is a crucial transport route connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes, moves significant volumes of oil products annually. Transport Canada reported in 2020 that more than 33 million barrels of oil products were transported through 29 marine facilities along the Great Lakes–St. Lawrence Seaway.
Despite these high stakes, the region faces critical gaps in oil spill preparedness, response and recovery.
“The Great Lakes–St. Lawrence River region lacks robust early-warning systems, predictive models for oil spill movement, detection capabilities for under-ice spills and effective countermeasures for freshwater oil cleanup,” said Prihoda. “And many Great Lakes communities remain unaware of oil-spill response planning and preparedness strategies.”
The fall 2024 Lakes Letter issue includes stories on oil-spill research and modeling, oil-spill response and the impact of regulations, a chronological look back at oil spills in the Great Lakes basin, and an overview of each of the collaborative research network groups.
“These networks bring together experts and community leaders to address oil spill risks with innovative solutions,” Prihoda said “The work of these groups offers hope for the resilience of Great Lakes communities, ecosystems and economies.”
Contact the individual collaborative networks for more information on their efforts and the work being done to safeguard the communities, economies, and ecosystems of the Great Lakes.
Prihoda and co-guest editor Kenneth Lee, of Kenneth Lee Research Inc., invited contributing authors, identified photographs and graphics to help tell the larger story of Great Lakes oil spill science and reviewed submissions.
CONTACT
Kelsey Prihoda, Great Lakes Transport Extension Educator, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth. [email protected].
Marie Thoms, Communications Director, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota and University of Minnesota Duluth. [email protected].