Satellite radar altimeters and GPS-buoy water level measurement are all-weather systems capable of measuring "absolute" lake elevation, wave height, wind speed, water vapor columns and lake ice boundary over the entire Great Lakes.   The goal is to investigate the use of these data sets to support research and operational services for the Great Lakes forecasting system (e.g. NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, and Ohio State University's Great Lakes Forecasting System.