Photo: “Lake Superior” by Clinton W via flickr.
According to a recent study, the gales of Gitchigumi are getting more powerful, due to warming water temperatures.
Known for its bone-chilling waters, as anyone who’s attempted to take a dip can attest to, the world’s largest freshwater lake (based on surface area) has steadily been rising in temperature since 1985.
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, led by Professor Ankur Desai, studied measurements and readings taken over 20 years by lake buoys and satellite images and have discovered that surface water temperatures have increased by 1.2 degrees per decade since 1985. This has resulted in an increase of five percent per decade in average wind speed. Currents have increased in speed by nearly ten percent per decade.
The repercussions could be far-reaching, according to Desai. Besides creating stronger, more damaging winds, this changing trend could impact currents and biological cycles, including the appearance of invasive species. Airborne pollutants from communities around the lake could also spread farther.
A wider gap between water and air temperature makes for calmer conditions. As Lake Superior sees less ice cover during the winters, the water absorbs more heat and the surface temperature more closely matches atmospheric measurements, making for more turbulent weather.
The findings, which have been published in the journal Nature Geoscience, may bring foreboding to the shipping industry and to area residents dealing with lake-effect snowstorms. But warmer water temperatures may be a welcome treat to swimmers and strong winds will no doubt delight an elite group of Lake Superior surfers!
