The Great Lakes are losing their winters to climate change. Explore the 'warming winter syndrome,' its effect on ice cover and local culture, and why science is racing to understand it.
Fifty years ago, winters around North America's Great Lakes were long, harsh, and deeply part of daily life. Temperatures would drop so low that blinking slowly could cause your eyelashes to freeze together. Thick layers of ice would cover the lakes, and people would go out before dawn to ice fish, dragging their gear across frozen bays and setting up wooden huts on the ice.
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But things are changing quickly. In the winter of 2019- 2020, many part of the lakes that usually froze solid, like Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron, never developed ice at all. The air hovered just above freezing. The ground stayed muddy. Children tried to sled on dead grass. Businesses that usually rented out ice fishing huts stayed closed. The ground stayed muddy. Children tried to sled on dead grass. Businesses that usually rented out ice fishing huts stayed closed. For many locals, it was hard not to wonder: is this what winter will look like from now on?
The disappearing winters in the Great Lakes region aren't just a local oddity, they're part of a much bigger trend. Across the world, lakes are being affected by warmer winters, and the changes are already having environmental, cultural, and economic consequences.
Warmer Winters, Bigger Problems
Scientists call this "warming winter syndrome," and the Great Lakes are a prime example. Winter temperatures are rising, ice cover is shrinking, and the cold season is becoming shorter, by about two weeks every decade since the mid-1990s. Surface water temperatures in the lakes are increasing too, especially in winter.
Melting snow and rain during warmer winters increase nutrient runoff from land into lakes. This can cause algae blooms that turn lakes green and smelly, spoil summer beach days, and make water treatment more difficult. Wildlife is affected too, including lake whitefish, which are both culturally and commercially important in the region. In many ways, winter helps define life around the Great Lakes.
Winter: The Missing Piece in Lake Research
Most of the monitoring and scientific research on the Great Lakes happens during the warmer months. But winter conditions play a crucial role in shaping the lakes' ecosystems and communities.
Researchers still don't have a complete understanding of how ice, cold temperatures, and wintertime biological processes affect the lakes' health. These gaps in knowledge make it harder to respond to problems like poor water quality, loss of fish species, and the cultural impact on local communities, including Indigenous Peoples.
Under the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, the governments of Canada and the United States already monitor the lakes and set shared goals to keep them safe for drinking, fishing, swimming, and wildlife. But so far, that work mostly focuses on warmer weather conditions. Expanding monitoring into winter would help fill key data gaps and prepare communities for a changing climate.
A Growing Effort to Study Winter
In 2022, scientists from across Canada and the US came together for a project called the Great Lakes Winter Grab. Using snowmobiles and hand drills, they collected water samples from beneath the ice on all five Great Lakes. This massive, co-ordinated effort was one of the first of its kind, aiming to capture a detailed snapshot of winter conditions.
Since then, the project has grown into a grassroots research network bringing together scientists, universities, and government agencies to share knowledge and resources. Their goal: to better understand how winter is changing, and what it means for the lakes and the people who depend on them.
Communities Are Already Feeling the Impact
Fewer frozen lakes mean more dangerous ice conditions. Already, warming winters are being linked to a rise in drownings from unstable ice. Less snow and more rain can also damage farmland and disrupt traditional food systems, especially for Indigenous communities. Cultural practices closely tied to winter, like hunting, fishing, and gathering, are being affected in ways that go beyond economics or recreation.
At the same time, some industries may benefit in the short term. With less ice, the shipping season could be extended. But this comes with its own risks, such as more invasive species, damage to fish habitats, and declining water quality.
The Way Forward: Strengthening Winter Science
Studying winter isn't easy. It requires special equipment, training, and careful planning to keep researchers safe in freezing conditions. But investing in winter science is becoming more urgent.
A new report highlights several gaps in our understanding, ranging from winter weather impacts on lake biology to the social and cultural costs of climate change. It also calls for better data sharing, improved infrastructure, and training programmes like the 2024 Winter Limnology Network workshop to help build scientific capacity.
Winter science around the Great Lakes is growing, but it needs stronger co-ordination and more support to keep up with the pace of change. These shifting winters are already altering ecosystems and affecting the daily lives of over 35 million people in the region.
By expanding winter research and monitoring, we can better protect the Great Lakes, not just for the environment, but for the communities, cultures, and traditions that depend on them.
Source: Phys.org
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