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Why do lake levels rise and fall ?
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Last updated in September, 2000

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      Short term changes in the lake level (days to years) are caused by changes in the amount of precipitation and evaporation. Some people see a longer term pattern when they study many decades of lake level data. Here are some charts of several years of data. You can update it through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering web site.
1. What patterns do you see between lakes over the years and within a year?
2. Who is affected when lake levels are high and who is affected when lake levels are low? (refer to photos listed below)
3. In terms of global climate change, which one might occur more frequently, higher level or lower level? Why?
 
1. FS-018 Identify your shoreline erosion problems.
2. FS-019 Lake Erie shore erosion.
3. FS-036 Questions to ask before you buy Great Lakes shoreline property.
4. tl-0399levels.html Lower Lake Erie Water Levels Forecasted in 1999
5. tl-0398levels.html Are Lake Erie's Water Levels Going to be Lower in 1998? 

For more information, please visit OSG website.
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1. Activities for the Changing Earth System
  • How High’s the Water?
  • Is Sea Level Rising? Well, It Depends
2. Lake-Aware Kids Engaged in Relevant Science
  • How do the levels of the Great Lakes change? 
    • 3. The Great Lake Erie
  • Chapter 5. Coastal Processes on the Great Lakes 
  • Chapter 9. Condition of Shipping on the Great Lakes 
  • Chapter 11. Water Level Fluctuations on the Great Lakes 
    • 4. Great Lakes Instructional Materials for the Changing Earth System
  • How is the precipitation of the Great Lakes Basin related to lake level change? 
  • What economic costs and benefits might coastal communities experience from lower lake levels? 
  • How can we map changes in water level? 
    • 5. Earth Systems - Education Activities for Great Lakes Schools

    Land & Water Interactions  in the Great Lakes 

  • What natural wonders of the Great Lakes relate to land and water interactions? 
    • Great Lakes Climate and Water Movement 
  • How do storm surges affect water levels on Lake Erie? 
  • How do the levels of the Great Lakes change? 
  • What would be the result of regulating the level of  one of the Great Lakes? 
    • 6. Global Change in the Great Lakes: Scenarios
  •  How will water resources in the Great Lakes region be affected? 
  • What are the implications of low water levels in the Great Lakes estuary?
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    High water levels in Summer of 1997
     
    		1. Natural Process of the Great Lakes
     http://www.cciw.ca/glimr/data/great-lakes-atlas/glat-chap2.html

    2. Great Lakes Net Basin Supply Forecast Model: the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and the Midwestern Climate Center
    http://www.glerl.noaa.gov/

    3. Great Lakes Geomorphology
    http://julius.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/images.html#lakemich

    4. Monthly Bulletin of Great Lakes Water Levels
    http://superior.lre.usace.army.mil/levels/bltnhmpg.html

    5. Water Level Graphs
    http://chswww.bur.dfo.ca/danp/wlgraphs.html

    6. What causes the levels of the Great Lakes to rise and fall?
    http://www.ec.gc.ca/water/en/info/pubs/primer/e_prim09.htm#a5

    Copyright 1999. Ohio Sea Grant College Program and Earth Systems Education Program of The Ohio State University

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