Technical appendix for the report Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems

The document describes how rising air temperatures in the Great Lakes Region will lead to higher lake temperatures, reduced ice cover, and increased evaporation, resulting in lower lake levels. It further notes that these changes, combined with human stresses like water pollution and groundwater extraction, will cause ecological disruptions in lakes, streams, and wetlands, specifically affecting productivity, eutrophication, and fish populations.

• Climate change is expected to increase air temperatures, which will subsequently raise lake temperatures and decrease the extent of lake and river ice cover.
• The combination of higher air temperatures and shorter periods of ice cover will lead to increased evaporation from the lakes, causing lake levels to drop.
• Climate change will trigger ecological impacts on wetlands, streams, and rivers, while changes in productivity and eutrophication in lakes will create higher-order effects on fish.
• The assessment of climate impacts on aquatic ecosystems is complicated by interacting human stresses, including water pollution, heavy groundwater and surface water extraction, and increased impervious surfaces from development.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2014). Technical appendix for the report Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems. https://www.ucs.org/resources/great-lakes-report-technical-appendix-climate-change-projections-impacts-aquatic

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Technical appendix for the report Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems. 2014. https://www.ucs.org/resources/great-lakes-report-technical-appendix-climate-change-projections-impacts-aquatic.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Technical appendix for the report Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems |date=20 June 2014 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/great-lakes-report-technical-appendix-climate-change-projections-impacts-aquatic |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2014technical, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Technical appendix for the report Confronting Climate Change in the Great Lakes Region: Impacts on Our Communities and Ecosystems}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/great-lakes-report-technical-appendix-climate-change-projections-impacts-aquatic}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }