Water level (the height of the lake surface above sea level) is influenced by many factors, including precipitation, snowmelt runoff, drought, evaporation rates, and people withdrawing water for multiple uses.
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You can read more about this as well as other myths about water level fluctuations in this blog. Over the next 6 months, Lake Michigan water levels are predicted to be below last year's levels, but remain above long term average water levels indicated by the dashed blue line in the image below.
Current pressures on the Lake Michigan ecosystem include increasing use of groundwater by a growing basin population, disruption of the aquatic food web, and habitat alteration.
Water levels are primarily determined by regional climatic conditions, which influence the net basin supply (NBS) of water to each lake. NBS represents the net influence of precipitation over the lake, runoff from a lake's watershed into the lake, and evaporation from the lake's surface.
Climatic conditions control precipitation (and thus groundwater recharge), runoff, and direct supply to the lakes as well as the rate of evaporation. These are the primary driving factors in determining water levels.
Those findings are consistent with a study from Michigan Technological University. That study found Lake Superior is expected to rise on average by 7.5 inches while levels on the Lake Michigan-Huron system is projected to increase 17 inches by 2050 due to climate change.
The lowest monthly average lake level for the representative network of gages on Lake Michigan/Huron, 576.02 feet IGLD 1985 International Great Lakes Datum, occurred in January 2013. The highest monthly average lake level for the network of gages, 582.35 feet IGLD 1985, occurred in October 1986.
That study found Lake Superior is expected to rise on average by 7.5 inches while levels on the Lake Michigan-Huron system is projected to increase 17 inches by 2050 due to climate change.
Lake Michigan: No more than 1 MI serving per month. Portage Lake in Houghton County: No more than 2 MI servings per month. Gull Lake in Kalamazoo County: No more than 2 MI servings per month. Higgins Lake in Roscommon County: No more than 4 MI servings per month.
So you know how when you go for a dip in the ocean and you come out covered in salt crust and with the distinct stench of rotting seaweed? Yeah, that doesn't happen in the Great Lakes. The water may be colder, but it's wonderfully clean.
Swimmers didn't find it too appealing, but it was popular for those who wanted to fish for trout. However, an analysis of satellite images between 1998 and 2012 showed that Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are now clearer than Lake Superior, which had always been the clearest of the Great Lakes in the past.
In winter, the precipitation amounts decline in the colder air. A loss of water level basically comes down to more water flowing out and evaporating than falling as precipitation.
These lake surface temperatures are projected to rise by as much as 7°F by 2050 and 12.1°F by 2100. Higher temperatures, increased precipitation, and lengthened growing seasons are likely to result in increased production of blue-green and toxic algae in the lakes.
Climate change is fueling more extreme Lake Michigan Water levels, along with stronger winds and heavier storms. These conditions exacerbate erosion, beach loss, and damage along the shore.
Threats to the Great Lakes' ecosystems, include invasive species, climate change, pollution, and habitat destruction. Climate change affects water temperatures, weather patterns, and lake levels.
10% of the entire planet's fresh water are contained in one inland sea. The amount of snow that gets melted and runs into the Great Lakes each year is so vast, that there is zero chance of running low. Droughts don't exist up there. Here in Perth Western Australia we have a dam, little rain and treated water.
The most dangerous predator in the Great Lakes is the sea lamprey, which was actually introduced as an invasive species. Primarily, it goes after a sports fish called the lake trout, often wounding them as they kill them off. It is also attracted to the blood and bodily fluids of any creature.
Lake sturgeons are the biggest fish in the Great Lakes. And while individuals can pass the century mark, the species has been around since the days of the dinosaurs.