Lake Superior Changes Mystify Scientists

[jpak]

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/tech/2007/aug/03/080300204.html

Deep enough to hold the combined water in all the other Great Lakes and with a surface area as large as South Carolina, Lake Superior's size has lent it an aura of invulnerability. But the mighty Superior is losing water and getting warmer, worrying those who live near its shores, scientists and companies that rely on the lake for business.

The changes to the lake could be signs of climate change, although scientists aren't sure.

Superior's level is at its lowest point in eight decades and will set a record this fall if, as expected, it dips three more inches. Meanwhile, the average water temperature has surged 4.5 degrees since 1979, significantly above the 2.7-degree rise in the region's air temperature during the same period.

That's no small deal for a freshwater sea that was created from glacial melt as the Ice Age ended and remains chilly in all seasons.

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[donsu]

1. some locals say it is being stolen

nt

[phantom power]

2. It is being stolen. By climate change.

We're stealing it from ourselves.

[shireen]

3. any seismic activity in the area?

Water could be going down a newly-opened fissure into a deep aquifer.

[kestrel91316]

4. Er, NO. Try again. Lack of much rain or snow in recent years in the area

has resulted in less water flowing into the lake. Warmer weather has caused more evaporation.

Earthquakes? Fissures?

Gee, maybe aliens are stealing it away in UFOs........

[amandabeech]

5. Yes, there's been a very serious drought going on in the western

side of the Lake, around the boundary waters wetlands. Also, the U.P. has been unusually dry and warm. Right now, the drought has spread to much of the southern L.P., too.

Also, the levels of all the Lakes rise and fall on a regular basis. As far as I know, no one has come up with a good reason why.