Hope for Great Lakes Water Levels

Long term climate projections predict conditions will be right to at least temporarily stop the decline in Great Lakes water levels. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports:

NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory is looking at how this winter’s climate might affect the lakes’ water levels.

Transcript

Long-term climate projections predict conditions will be to at least temporarily stop the decline in Great Lakes water levels. The Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports.


Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, and Erie are all at their lowest levels in 35 years. But, officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration -or NOAA– say its climate outlooks for this winter indicate there’ll be a normal amount of precipitation and well below normal temperatures. Cold weather means more ice cover on the lakes, and that prevents some evaporation. Cynthia Sellinger is a hydrologist at NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab.


“So NOAA’s forecast, saying that we’ll have below normal temperatures means that we may have a decent ice cover and we may not have winter evaporation. So, if that happens and if we get a decent snow pack, we may not decline anymore.”


But, the experts say it’s still too early to say whether climate will change enough to reverse the lower water level trend on the Great Lakes. For the Great Lakes Radio Consortium, I’m Lester Graham.

Tumors Found on Zooplankton

  • Large tumors have been found on zooplankton in Lake Michigan. Scientists don't know the cause and don't know what the growths will mean to the food chain. (Photo courtesy of University of Michigan and NOAA/ Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory)

Scientists are alarmed at the discovery of tumors on tiny animals at
the base of the food chain in one of the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes
Radio Consortium’s Lester Graham reports… no one seems sure what this
will mean to life in the lakes:

NOAA Closing Gauging Stations

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has decided to
remove a total of 13 gauging stations from around the Great Lakes
region. The stations take continual readings of lake levels. NOAA says
the removal is part of an effort to cut costs and remove obsolete
stations, but some policy-makers say the timing couldn’t be worse. The
Great Lakes Radio Consortium’s David Hammond reports:

Sediment Plume Carries Life to Lakes

  • The USEPA research ship Lake Guardian. (Photo courtesy USEPA Great Lakes Program Office)

For the second year in row, government scientists plan to be onboard a ship
chasing a natural phenomenon on Lake Michigan. The Great Lakes Radio
Consortium’s Lester Graham reports a sediment plume might be the key to all
life in the lake:

Related Links