Climate Change and the Great Lakes

Global climate change has been widely discussed in the popular press and scientific literature. A great deal of research has been conducted on climate change, primarily at the global level. General circulation models (GCM) of the world’s atmosphere and a doubling of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, have been used to create various scenarios about future conditions overall. Although results of these modeling efforts tend to agree on average global estimates of climate change, regional predictions vary tremenpously. In strategic areas such as the Great Lakes basin, one of the most important predicted effects is on water-we will have less of it, and it will be warmer.