Research
Water Resources
Freighter entering Duluth Harbor, MN
Outlook: Lake Levels / Water Quantity
- Lake levels expected to decline as winter ice coverage decreases and over winter evaporation increases
- Lower water levels may cause small streams and wetlands to dry up, resulting in poorer water quality.
Impacts
- Costs of shipping in the Great Lakes likely to increase as water levels drop due to the cost of dredging harbors and channels, adjusting docks, etc.
- Pressures on the Great Lakes from irrigation, drinking, and other human uses may result in water shortages
Forecasts
- Water Levels
- Tributary Flows
Projects
- Great Lakes Sensitivity to Climatic Forcing: This study simulated Great Lakes hydrology for hypothetical climate scenarios to understand the extremes necessary to cause closed (terminal) lakes, believed to have occurred about 7,500 years ago (by carbon dating). P.I: Tom Croley
- Dynamic Modeling of Great Lakes Regional Climate: As a result of the lack of realistic surface-atmosphere feedback in previous studies, the Coupled Hydrosphere-Atmosphere Research Model (CHARM) was developed to enable an assessment of the impact of greenhouse warming on the Great Lakes region, with simulated lakes allowed to directly feed back into the atmosphere through exchange of heat and moisture, while fully accounting for runoff from land surfaces. P.I: Brent Lofgren