\u201cThe goal of this was really to make a review that was useful for scientists, but also useful for the general public to be able to look at those consequences in a simple summary,\u201d said Hilary Dugan, Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She was one of 16 authors scattered across the globe who collaborated on the study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
News coverage by Michigan Public reporters and our colleagues in the Great Lakes News Collaborative<\/a> have been documenting these consequences in the Great Lakes region for many years here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>, for example.<\/p>\n\n\n\n More recent reports cover the historic decreases in ice coverage of the Great Lakes here<\/a>, here<\/a>, and here<\/a>. NPR contributed this story<\/a> in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, some of the changes to the Great Lakes and the inland lakes of the region won\u2019t come as a great surprise to people who pay attention. But there\u2019s more going on than has been studied in just our region of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consequences of less ice on lakes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n While there\u2019s much more to be studied, here\u2019s a brief summary of what this study has compiled from around the world:<\/p>\n\n\n\n More lake ice study needed<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Dugan said one of the reasons we\u2019re only putting together some of this information now is that there are few researchers spending time studying ice-covered lakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTraditionally, we get out on lake in the summer and study them really intensively. And there\u2019s been a pretty major awareness of really needing to get more data in the winter to be able to answer some of these questions (about ice cover).\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the Great Lakes and the regional inland lakes continue to see less ice over the decades, Dugan said we will still see some significant ice some years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re in this climate zone, where we can have mild winters punctuated by these massive polar vortex events that bring really cold weather. And so, winter overall, it\u2019s warming, but it\u2019s also getting a lot more variable. And so we\u2019re going to live through some interesting winters that are going to be all over the place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She concluded we will still see some good lake ice years. However, it\u2019s going to be a lot more uncertain as climate disruption continues because of continued fossil fuel use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This article was originally published on Michigan Public and is re-posted here with permission:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n https:\/\/www.michiganpublic.org\/environment-climate-change\/2024-10-14\/consequences-of-less-ice-on-lakes-due-to-climate-change<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n About the Author:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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