The coastal science and stewardship adviser for the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation says one of the most outstanding characteristics of the Lake Huron shoreline is its resiliency.
Pat Donnelly says the shoreline doesn't always return to its original form following an attack by mother nature, but it does adjust and continue to thrive.
Donnelly says problems arise when humans fail to recognize that resiliency and not intervene in the natural process. That usually leads to consequences that may not always be intended, but are often negative.
Donnelly points out climate changes is having a noticeable, but not yet predictable, impact on the lake level. He notes the conventional thinking at one time was that warmer temperatures and the lack of ice on the lake would both contribute to more evaporation, and therefore a lower water level.
But so far, that hasn't happened and level is not bouncing back from record lows in January of 2013.
He suggests what does appear to be happening is that the fluctuations of the normal cycle may start occurring more frequently and could be more extreme, but he adds it's still too early to say with any certainty.
"What we're probably going to end up with is climate change impacts will probably be a fluctuating water level, more frequently than we've seen in the past and maybe a little bit lower but that's not anything that we can definitely say until we have a few more years of record."
Pat Donnelly - Coastal Science and Stewardship Adviser for the Lake Huron Centre for Coastal Conservation (photo by Bob Montgomery)
