Lake Inferior, Soon To Be?
by John Laumer, Philadelphia on 06.14.07
Reports about a rapidly dropping Lake Superior, probably the most beautiful and certainly the largest of all the Great Lakes, (max depth = 1,330 feet), are showing up all over. You'd think the print media were on a "hunt-for-signs-of-global-warming." Keep it up, guys, and you'll restart the secret Canadian-US fight over water sneaking.. There's already ridiculous conspiracy theories about the Army Corps secreting water to downstream States. So, the rest of the drought stricken US can just go on a conservation binge, and forget about getting any nice clean cool water from Superior. USA Today has the latest: some crowning excerpts follow. "Lake Superior, the world's largest freshwater lake, has dropped to its lowest level in 81 years. The water is 20 inches below average and a foot lower than just a year ago...Wetlands have dried up. Power plants run at half capacity. Cargo ships carry partial loads. Boaters struggle to find a place to dock...The water has receded, sometimes 50 feet or more, from its normal shoreline...The average water temperature of Lake Superior has risen 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1979...A drought and warm weather are the immediate cause of the drop in water levels. In the past year, precipitation was 6 inches less than the average of 31 inches. The lake's southern shore had a green Christmas in 2006. The ice and snow pack that usually cover the lake arrived late, allowing water to evaporate...Edison Sault Electric power plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., will operate at less than 50% capacity this year because its water flows have been slashed as a result of the low lake levels,.. Via:: USA Today Image credit:: Porcupine Mountains State Park, Upper Penninsula of Michigan, South Shore of Lake Superior, Kerema's Backpacking Trip
Not mentioned in the print stories we've seen but worth noting: if you've got bad pollen allergies, the South Shore of Superior is a heavenly respite in July, when onshore breezes prevail. Also, with the receding shoreline, there'll be plenty more native agates to pick up on the stone beaches.
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I'm a graduate student at Michigan State University, and I study some related issues to the Great Lakes Levels. All of the Great Lakes are lower than normal, particularly those that usually are partially or mostly covered with ice.
You see, very large lakes like these actually evaporate little during the summer time, but a lot in the winter (whither lake effect snows). So, if you warm the climate slightly and discourage ice cover, then evaporation can increase significantly.
Superior suffers the most because it doesn't have another Great Lake flowing into it as all of the other ones do.