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Making Lake George the
“Smartest Lake” in the World
The Jefferson Project at Lake George is a multi-million dollar collaboration between Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute, IBM, and The FUND for Lake George. Its goal is to understand and
manage complex factors—from road salt, storm water runoff and invasive species—threatening
one of the world’s most pristine natural ecosystems and an economic cornerstone of the
New York tourism industry.
Lake Basics
•
•
Lake George is
32 miles long,
2.5 miles wide
at its widest
point and has a
maximum depth
of 200 feet.
•
The land
surrounding the
lake remains
95% natural
forestland.
•
The lake is
responsible
for about
$1 billion
in tourism activity
in the surrounding
region.
It has 145
tributaries and
over 170 islands.
Lake Stressors
Salt Content: In 1980, lakewide chloride concentration
was 5.9 parts per million. By 2009, largely due to road salt,
lakewide chloride concentration
had nearly tripled to
15.7 parts per million.
Algae Impact: Over the last 30 years
chlorophyll levels in Lake George’s surface
waters have increased by
50%
Invasive
Species:
5 species
as quantities of algae
in the lake have grown.
have been
discovered,
including the
Asian Clam
and the Zebra Mussel.
Making the Lake Smarter
Darrin Fresh Water I nstitute
A R esear ch C enter of R ensselaer P olytechni c I nsti tute
The Darrin Fresh Water Institute is a
multidisciplinary environmental research center of
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. It will serve as
the home base for the Jefferson Project.
40 sensing platforms
will be deployed initially. These will
monitor 25 variables
including weather, water
chemistry and quality,
lake currents and stream flows.
Will model the lake using
a supercomputer
capable of
performing
1
over
sec.
188 trillion
operations per second.
More than
20
scientists
will be collaborating
on the project, working
with 30 years of
historical data.
Lake George is a headwaters lake and has a top water quality rating from New York.
An ideal body of water to study due to its size and unique ecosystem, it will become
home to a world-class environmental laboratory with a monitoring and prediction system.
Local groups will use this data to make informed decisions on the protection and future
of Lake George’s unique ecosystem.