The Grand Valley State University wind research platform was removed from Lake Michigan last December, thus ending its three-year mission in the lake, writes Mlive news site.
The buoy was monitoring wind speeds 6.5 miles offshore between Muskegon and White Lake in Lake Michigan.
Due to winter ice conditions, this was the most dramatic retrieval of the wind research platform. Even with the ice buildup on the buoy, the electronics and the rest of the equipment functioned flawlessly.
The buoy is now sitting onshore at the tugboat Andrie’s Grand Trunk Dock, collecting wind data until its next assignment.
Offshore WIND staff, January 13, 2014; Image: GVSU