Stannard Rock Will Monitor Lake Superior Evaporation

In an effort to determine whether “global warming” is causing record low levels to be recorded in Lake Superior, hydrologists have installed equipment at Stannard Rock Lighthouse to measure evaporation. The scientists, from Environment Canada’s Water and Science Technology Branch, have installed a sonic anemometer which produces three-dimensional wind measurements, and an analyzer that gauges water vapor in the air at intervals lasting only tenths of a second. Sensors will keep track of air and water temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity and wind speed and direction. Eventually, plans are to place similar monitors in Lake Huron.

Stannard Rock Light, an engineering marvel built on a rock about 45 miles north of Marquette, Michigan, is an ideal spot according to the scientists. The site can’t be too close to land, as this study will use a technique called eddy covariance. This technique combines humidity and air velocity data to calculate how fast water vapor rises from the lake surface. According to a story at MLive, it’s described as being similar to the way smoke rises from birthday cake candles after they’re blown out. Whether this data is relevant remains to be seen, however, and there are quite a few skeptics that doubt that this will show anything applicable to all the Great Lakes.

The Problem of Low Water Levels

Shipping through the Great Lakes is dependent on the necessary high water levels, and recent drought conditions throughout the Great Lakes region have resulted in water levels dropping to record lows. Global warming alarmists are quick to point the finger at the climate change, but other theories abound. One other major factor in Superior’s drop may be linked to increased dredging in the St. Clair River, allowing more water to flow from the Upper Great Lakes to Erie and Ontario, and out to the Atlantic. And of course, there are those that believe a conspiracy exists, with a secret pipe drawing water from the abundant freshwater lakes to Arizona, so retirees can have green lawns around their desert homes.

But is it a problem? Or is this just another cycle in the water levels? In the early to mid 1920s, the water levels of Superior were as low or lower than they are now. And they came back. Anyone who paid attention in science class in elementary school knows that the water we have on this planet has been here since the beginning of time. It evaporates, and comes down as rain somewhere. Climate changes may have locked a lot of the water in icecaps at the poles, but the water on Earth is a stable amount.

About Stannard Rock Lighthouse

If lighthouse keeper jobs were political appointments, whoever got stuck out here at the Loneliest Lighthouse had to have been on someone’s bad side. The light, named for Charles C. Stannard, who discovered this more than mile-long dangerous reef in 1835, was lit in 1882 after five years of construction. The previous day beacon had proven insufficient to warn sailors of this treacherous area of the lake.

Due to its location, storms approaching Stannard Rock are able to build up in intensity. One November a work crew of 12 men became trapped when a storm moved in quickly. Ferocious winds blew sheets of pack ice, trapping the men for 7 days inside the lighthouse. It took them 2 days to chop their way out of the 12 feet of ice that imprisoned them and make it to the mainland.

The light was automated in 1962, after the interior was gutted from an explosion and fire in July, 1961. The lighthouse keeper died in this tragedy. Somehow the kerosene tanks that fueled the fog signal exploded, and what followed was a fire so intense that it actually consumed part of the stone structure. The only way that some of the crew survived was to hang over the side of the structure suspended by lines. It was several days before the crew was rescued, and then only because a vessel passing at night had reported the light extinguished.

Results From This Experiment

Although this may not conclusively prove anything, the data will be compiled over a period of two years, and at the least should complement data from the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GRERL). They do not measure actual evaporation, but rather rely on computer models that produce estimates using data from across the lake, gathered by satellites, buoys, aircraft and other means.

“Variables such as wind speed and humidity can differ sharply from one point to another on Lake Superior, which has about the same surface area as South Carolina,” said Tom Croley of the GLERL. “It’s generally impossible to come up with a single measurement that will represent the entire lake,” he said.

In my opinion, a more imminent threat to the Great Lakes is the introduction of invasive species. The water will rise and fall, but the destruction of the ecosystem is unconscionable.

Photo credits:

• Stannard Rock Lighthouse photos by cmstpprr at Community Webshots.
• Lake Superior water levels image from GRERL

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