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The
Great Lakes are located halfway between the equator and the North Pole.
This is the most important locational control of climate. The Lakes' middle
latitude location insures large seasonal differences in the amount of energy
received from the sun.
The Lakes' location near the center of the North American continent complements the latitudinal control by minimizing the tempering effects of the oceans. This means that the Great Lakes basin respond quickly to increasing amounts of solar energy in the spring and warms up rather quickly. Location also determines the major source of moisture for the area, which is the Gulf of Mexico. The eastern portion of the Great Lakes is more easily accessible to moisture bearing winds from the Gulf. Consequently, precipitation totals are larger and more evenly distributed there than in the west. (From The Great Lake Erie. Chap. 4. The Effect of Lake Erie on Climate) |
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1. What factors related to location impact
climate in the Great Lakes? 2. If the Great Lakes were located near equator, how do the climate of the Great Lakes change through the seasons? |
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1. EP-079
The
Great Lake Erie 2. EP-083 Earth Systems - Education Activities for Great Lakes Schools (ES-EAGLS): Climate and Water Movement 3. EP-081 The Great Lakes Solution Seeker |
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1. The
Great Lake Erie
Climate and Water Movement
3. Great Lakes Instructional Materials for the Changing Earth System
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Great Lakes Marine Zone Forecasts by the Cleveland, OH Forecast Office (source: Coastal Marine Forecasts by Zone) |
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1. National
Warnings Area (by NOAA) http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov/iwin/nationalwarnings.html 2. Climate Summaries for the Midwest (11 states) http://mcc.sws.uiuc.edu/Summary/ 3. Weekly Weather http://www.usda.gov/agency/oce/waob/jawf/wwcb.html 4. NOAA national weather service http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ 3. National Weather Service: Office of Meteorology http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/ |
