Great Lakes And Global Warming: A Recipe For Regional Reshaping
Climate change is a hot button issue, but even without playing a blame game, there is weight to the data that has been collected. The Earth will warm as it has in the past, but the repercussions will be far reaching. Within North America, the Great Lakes and global warming will interact in a way that could change the region vastly.
Climate change is a hot button issue, but even without playing a blame game, there is weight to the data that has been collected. The Earth will warm as it has in the past, but the repercussions will be far reaching. Within North America, the Great Lakes and global warming will interact in a way that could change the region vastly.
This area is already dealing with the deleterious affects of invasive species, and something like climate change will only act like fuel to a fire. Twenty percent of the world's fresh water comes from the Great Lakes, it is a major source of this finite resource and any depletion will have massive and widespread repercussions.
The importance of the region cannot be downplayed. Outside of the manufacturing of drinking water, it is also a huge producer of hydroelectric power, is a thoroughfare for shipping routes, as well as being a tourist attraction. A variety of species, both plant and animal, make their home along the shore and within the lakes themselves.
With all of these positives, there is a flipside to use and land development including air and water pollution and urban encroachment into habitats. Because of these issues, the region is more susceptible to being affected by global warming. Something as innocuous as climate change can reap disastrous results.
At this point there is still a thin layer of ice that builds up along the lakes at certain times of the year, but with increased temperature the ice will disappear. When the ice leaves, the lakes will evaporate at a higher rate and bring down the water levels.
As recently as last year, the lake level of Lake Superior was at its lowest in seventy seven years and predictions for the future are estimating another three foot decrease. The effects of low water levels include restrictions to shipping and a concentration of pollutants which will damage the water quality greatly, as well as the industry for travel, leisure, and cruises.
At the present, there are preliminary measure being discussed to restore the grandeur to the Great Lakes, but it will require billions of dollars over a number of years. Updating antiquated sewage treatment systems and cleaning up the already polluted sediment will be coupled with a natural buildup of wetlands that will act as a natural filter and barrier from invasive species.
Another issue outside of a lower water level includes more droughts and storms which will create a cycle that could result in increased pollution runoff, virus transmission, as well as oxygen free dead zones within the lake due to the growth of algae.
What does the future hold? It cannot be known with absolute certainty, but models have provided some statistics. Storms may increase by 25%, but with the temperature increases (ranging between two and four degrees), the water levels can drop up to eight feet!
The future may seem to hold a number of destructive elements, but they can be tempered by being proactive in the present and working to make the Great Lakes as great as they once were.
Climate change is a hot button issue, but even without playing a blame game, there is weight to the data that has been collected. The Earth will warm as it has in the past, but the repercussions will be far reaching. Within North America, the Great Lakes and global warming will interact in a way that could change the region vastly.
This area is already dealing with the deleterious affects of invasive species, and something like climate change will only act like fuel to a fire. Twenty percent of the world's fresh water comes from the Great Lakes, it is a major source of this finite resource and any depletion will have massive and widespread repercussions.
The importance of the region cannot be downplayed. Outside of the manufacturing of drinking water, it is also a huge producer of hydroelectric power, is a thoroughfare for shipping routes, as well as being a tourist attraction. A variety of species, both plant and animal, make their home along the shore and within the lakes themselves.
With all of these positives, there is a flipside to use and land development including air and water pollution and urban encroachment into habitats. Because of these issues, the region is more susceptible to being affected by global warming. Something as innocuous as climate change can reap disastrous results.
At this point there is still a thin layer of ice that builds up along the lakes at certain times of the year, but with increased temperature the ice will disappear. When the ice leaves, the lakes will evaporate at a higher rate and bring down the water levels.
As recently as last year, the lake level of Lake Superior was at its lowest in seventy seven years and predictions for the future are estimating another three foot decrease. The effects of low water levels include restrictions to shipping and a concentration of pollutants which will damage the water quality greatly, as well as the industry for travel, leisure, and cruises.
At the present, there are preliminary measure being discussed to restore the grandeur to the Great Lakes, but it will require billions of dollars over a number of years. Updating antiquated sewage treatment systems and cleaning up the already polluted sediment will be coupled with a natural buildup of wetlands that will act as a natural filter and barrier from invasive species.
Another issue outside of a lower water level includes more droughts and storms which will create a cycle that could result in increased pollution runoff, virus transmission, as well as oxygen free dead zones within the lake due to the growth of algae.
What does the future hold? It cannot be known with absolute certainty, but models have provided some statistics. Storms may increase by 25%, but with the temperature increases (ranging between two and four degrees), the water levels can drop up to eight feet!
The future may seem to hold a number of destructive elements, but they can be tempered by being proactive in the present and working to make the Great Lakes as great as they once were.
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