Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth largest lake (based on the surface area) of five Great Lakes in North America, and the eleventh largest globally if measured in terms of surface area. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest according to the Great Lakes volume and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. At its deepest point, Lake Erie has a depth of 210 feet (64 meters).
Located on the International Border between Canada and the United States, the northern shore of Lake Erie is the province of Ontario in Canada, particularly the Ontario Peninsula, with the US states in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York in the west, south and east. beach. This jurisdiction divides the surface area of ​​the lake with water boundaries.
The lake was named by the Erie people, a Native American who lives along the southern coast. The name of the tribe "erie" is a short form of the Iroquoian erielhonan , which means "long tail".
Located below Lake Huron, Erie's main entrance is the Detroit River. The main natural flow from the lake is through the Niagara River, which provides hydroelectric power to Canada and the US for turning large turbines near Niagara Falls in Lewiston, New York and Queenston, Ontario. Some outbreaks occur through the Welland Canal, part of St. Lawrence Seaway, who diverted water for the ship's passage from Port Colborne, Ontario on Lake Erie, to St. Lawrence Seaway. Catharines on Lake Ontario, 326 ft (99 m) elevation difference. The environmental health of Lake Erie has been a continuing concern for decades, with issues such as overfishing, pollution, blooming algae and eutrophication producing headlines.
Video Lake Erie
Geography
Geographic features
Lake Erie (42.2 Â ° N, 81.2 W) has an average altitude of 571 feet (174 m) above sea level. It has a surface area of ​​9,990 square miles (25,874 km 2 ) with a length of 241 miles (388 km; 209? Nmi) legislation and an extent of 57 miles (92 km/50? Nmi) legislation in bullet points.
This is the shallowest of the Great Lakes with an average depth of 10 fathoms 3 feet (63Ã, ft (19 m) and a maximum depth of 35 fathoms (210Ã, ft; 64 m) For comparison, Lake Superior has an average depth of 80 fathoms 3 legs (483 ft (147 m), volume of 2,900 cubic miles (12,000 km 3 ) and coastline 2,726 miles laws (4,385 km).Therefore it is shallow, it is also the warmest of the Great Lakes, and in 1999 it was almost a problem for two nuclear power plants requiring cool lake water to keep their reactors cool.Sheated summer in 1999 caused lake temperatures to be close to 85 Â ° F (29 Â °). , Â ° C) the limits required to keep the plant cool, as well as its shallowness, and despite being the warmest lake in summer, it is also the first to freeze in winter.The shallowest part of Lake Erie is the western part of the basin where the depth is flat only 25 up to 30 feet (7.6 to 1.9 m), as a result, "the breeze can kick the life of the wave ely," according to the New York Times reporter in 2004. "The waves form very quickly" , according to another report. Sometimes the ferocious waves appear unexpectedly have caused a dramatic rescue; in one instance, a Cleveland resident who tried to measure a pier near his home became trapped but was rescued by fire-fighting divers from Avon Lake, Ohio:
In the war against the waves, the two were eventually pulled out with ropes. After being trapped for an hour and a half, Baker returns on dry ground, exhausted and battered but alive.
This area is also known as the "Canadian storm capital" with an "amazing" lightning display. Lake Erie is mainly fed by the Detroit River (from Lake Huron and Lake St. Clair) and flows through the Niagara River and Niagara Falls to Lake Ontario. Downstream navigation is provided by Welland Canal, part of the Saint Lawrence Seaway. Other major contributors to Lake Erie include the Great River, Huron River, Maumee River, Sandusky River, Buffalo River and Cuyahoga River. The drainage basin covers 30,140 square miles (78,100 km 2 ).
Point Pelee National Park, the southernmost point of the Canadian mainland, lies on a peninsula that stretches into the lake. Some islands are found at the western end of the lake; it belongs to Ohio except Pelee Island and eight neighboring islands, which are part of Ontario.
Major cities along Lake Erie include Buffalo; Erie, Pennsylvania; Toledo, Ohio; and Cleveland, Ohio.
Islands
The islands tend to lie on the western side of the lake and a total of 31 (13 in Canada, 18 in the US). The Put-in-Bay islands of South Bass Island attract young crowds that sometimes wear "red bucket hats" and tend to "break carts in the park" and general joy. Kelleys Island is described by the Chicago Tribune as having a "smoother" charm than Put-in-Bay, and offers facilities such as beach lounging, hiking, biking and "admiring the deep glacial left in limestone." Pelee Island is the largest island in Erie, accessible by ferry from Leamington, Ontario and Sandusky, Ohio. The island has a "fragile and unique ecosystem" with plants rarely found in Canada, such as water hyacinth, yellow gentian horses (Triosteum angustifolium ) and thorny pear cactus, as well as two endangered snakes, blue racers and Lake Erie's water snake. Songbirds migrate to Pelee in the spring, and the king's butterflies stop during the fall.
Water level
Lake Erie has a lake retention time of 2.6 years, the shortest of all the Great Lakes. The surface area of ​​the lake is 9,910 square miles (25,667 km 2 ). Lake Erie's water level fluctuates with seasons like the other Great Lakes. Generally, the lowest rates are in January and February, and the highest in June or July, although there are exceptions. The average annual rate varies depending on long-term rainfall. Short-term rate changes are often caused by very high seiches when a southwest wind blows along the lake during a storm. This causes water to accumulate at the eastern end of the lake. Seiches that are storm-driven can cause damage on land. During a storm in November 2003, the water level in Buffalo rose 7 feet (2.1 m) with a wave of 10-15 feet (3.0-4.6 meters) for a 22 feet (6.7 m) rise. Meanwhile, at the western end of the lake, Toledo is experiencing the same drop in water levels. The lake water is used for drinking purposes.
- High Historical Water . The lake fluctuates from month to month with the highest lake levels in June and July. In the summer of 1986, Lake Erie reached its highest level at 5.08 feet (1.55 m) above the datum. High water records were set from 1986 (April) to January 1987. Rates range from 4.33 to 5.08 feet (1.32 to 1.55 m) above the Datum Chart.
- Water Low Historical . Lake Erie has its lowest level in winter. In the winter of 1934, Lake Erie reached the lowest level at 1.5 feet (0.46 m) below the datum. Low monthly water records were set from July 1934 to June 1935. During this twelve-month period, the water level ranged from 1.5 feet (0.46 m) to Datum Bagan.
Maps Lake Erie
Geology
Lake Erie is carved by glacier ice, and in its present form is less than 4,000 years old, which is a short range in terms of geology. Before this, the land where the lake now sits through some complicated stages. The vast lowland basin formed more than two million years ago as a result of a river that flows eastward long before the Pleistocene ice age. This ancient drainage system was destroyed by the first large glacier in the area, while it deepened and enlarged the lowlands, allowing water to settle and form a lake. Glaciers are able to carve more land on the eastern side of the lowlands because the bedrock is made of softer shale of dolomite carbonate rock and limestone on the west side. Thus, the eastern and central basins of modern lakes are much deeper than the western basin, which averages only 25 feet (7.6 m) and are rich in nutrients and fish. Lake Erie is the shallowest Great Lake because its ice is relatively thin and has no erosion power when it reaches far south, according to one view.
A total of three glaciers stepped forward and retreated on the ground causing the lake to temporarily form within a period of time between each. Since each lake has a different water volume, their shorelines rest at different altitudes. The last lake that formed, Lake Warren, existed between about 13,000 and 12,000 years ago. It's deeper than Lake Erie right now, so its coastline is about eight miles (13 km) inland from the modern. The coastline of these lakes leave the plateau that divides the swamp and is used as a way for the Indians and later, the pioneers. These tracks became primitive streets that eventually paved. U.S. Route 30 west of Delphos and US Routes 20 west of Norwalk and east of Cleveland were formed this way. One can still see some of the ancient sand dunes formed in the Oak Opening Area in Northwest Ohio. There, the sandy sandy patch is not sufficient to support large trees with the exception of some oak species, forming a rare savanna of oak.
History
Native Americans
At the time of European contact, there were several Native American cultural groups living around the coast at the eastern end of the lake. The Erie tribe (from whom this lake takes its name) lives along the southern edge, while Neutrals (also known as Attawandaron) live along the northern coast. Near Port Stanley, there is a native American village dating from the 16th century known as Southwold Earthworks where as many as 800 Native Americans of Neutral have lived; Archaeological remains include a double earth wall that winds around a grass-covered perimeter. The Europeans call the Indians Neutral Indians because these people refuse to fight with other tribes. Both tribes were conquered and assimilated by their hostile eastern neighbors, the Iroquois Confederation between 1651 and 1657, in what is referred to as part of Beaver Wars.
For decades after the war, the land around eastern Lake Erie was claimed and utilized by Iroquois as a hunting ground. When Iroquois's power was reduced during the last quarter of the 17th century, several other tribes, especially the Native American Anishinaabe, removed them from the territories they claimed on the north shore of the lake. There is the legend of an Native American woman named Huldah who, desperate for her lost British lover, threw herself from the high rocks of Pelee Island.
European exploration and settlement
In 1669, the Frenchman Louis Jolliet was the first documented European to see Lake Erie, though there is speculation that the ÃÆ'â € ° tienne BrÃÆ'Â »lÃÆ'Â © may have found it in 1615. Lake Erie is the last of the Great Lakes to be explored by the Europeans, because the Iroquois who occupy the territory of the Niagara River is against the French, and they do not allow explorers or merchants to pass by. Explorers follow the river from Lake Ontario and head straight into Lake Huron. British authorities in Canada were worried about the possibility of expansion by the American settlers on Lake Erie, so Colonel Talbot developed the Talbot Trail in 1809 as a way to stimulate settlements in the area; Talbot recruits settlers from Ireland and Scotland and there are many places named after it, such as Port Talbot and Talbot and Talbotville Rivers in southern Ontario.
During the War of 1812, Oliver Hazard Perry captured the entire British fleet in 1813 near Put-in-Bay, Ohio, despite having a lower figure. American troops swept across the Ontario area around the burnt Port Rowan towns and villages, but rescued a gristmill belonging to a Canadian stone mason named John Backhouse, according to a report. In general, however, although two exceptions are the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 involving conflicts between the US and the UK, relations between the US and Canada have been very friendly with "unfortified borders" and agreements "that have kept all war fleets on the Great Lakes. "
In 1837, the uprising broke out between Canadian settlers and the British Colonial government, especially over political reform and land allocation issues. Some rebels settled in the US and crossed the ice from Sandusky Bay to Pelee Island wearing "ragged coats and old boots," and carrying guns, pitchforks and swords, but the inhabitants of the island had fled. Then, there was a battle on the ice with the 32nd regiment of the Kingdom, with the rebels being pushed back.
Settlers established commercial fisheries on the north shore of the lake around the 1850s. An important business is fishing. In the years before the Civil War, trains sprang up everywhere, and around 1852 there were trains that surrounded the lake. Maritime traffic increases, although the lake is usually closed due to ice from December to early April, and ships must wait for ice to clear before continuing. Since slavery was abolished in Canada in 1833, but still valid in the southern states of the US, the Erie Lake crossing is sometimes necessary for the fugitive slaves seeking freedom:
When Kentucky fugitive Lewis Clarke arrived in Cleveland, he did not know how to find Canada. "I went to the edge of the lake again and again, to try and see the other side, but I could not see the hills, mountains, or city of asylum I was looking for," he told an interviewer. "I'm afraid to ask where (Canada) is, not to betray such a degree of ignorance to arouse suspicion all at once." Many fugitives also have to overcome the fear instilled by their former teachers...
The merchant has no radar and modern weather forecasts, so ships are often caught in an intense storm:
A loud wind blows on Lake Erie... The schooner Stranger came this morning and reported seeing the ship about 12 miles [19 km] up, 2 miles [3.2 km] from the Canadian coast, with three men -the clinging stick to the poles, which themselves were seen above the water-heard their screams and screams...
There are reports of disasters usually from sea captains that convey information to journalists; in 1868, the captain of Grace Whitney saw a drowned ship "three men attached to the masthead" but he could not help because of the storm and the high seas.
A balloonist named John Steiner from Philadelphia made an ambitious journey across the lake in 1857. He was depicted in The New York Times as an eronaut or anonymous ; powered boats are called propellers ; and quickly considered rail speed . Here is an explanation of the long journey over the lake:
He woke up to a height of about three miles, and started at a slow but steady pace... The lake could be seen from one end to the other almost... At one time Mr. Steiner counted 38 sailboats, all in sight, and far below. Hands on board some of the boats saw him, and correctly understood that he was an aeronaut, cheered with all his heart... He approached Canada just under Long Point... he was pushed toward Buffalo... The night was drawing and being it is clear that he can not, by this current, get away from the water before dark, and after the night will not be safe to descend. Looking at the blades... Mary Stewart ... He first struck water about 25 miles below Long Point... All this time Mr. Steiner says he thinks his balloon is bumped from the water at least twenty times. It will attack and then rebound, like a ball, into the air from twenty to fifty feet, and still rush down the lake at the speed of the train... Mr. Steiner then leaves the balloon, jumps into the water and swims toward the boat, which by quickly grab it...
In 1885, the lake winds were so powerful that the surface water dropped substantially, sometimes up to two feet, so at ports like Toledo, boats could not load coal or leave the harbor.
During the lake's history as fishing, it has been marked by a struggle against the interest groups. It was a newspaper account in 1895, where critics of commercial fishing issued a bad prediction and called for a government action to solve the problem:
The preservation of Lake Erie's fisheries has become a serious problem for all who have noticed it... the fisheries are being exhausted by the extravagant methods that are now in vogue... it's still a pound fishing habit about Sandusky to take fish of all sizes, and if they are too small to market , they are submitted to the fertilizer factory. If left undisturbed for two or three more years, this little fish will be a very valuable product...
The predictions of over-entranced lakes in 1895 were premature, as fisheries have survived commercial fishing and sports, pollution in the mid-20th century, invasive species and other diseases, but state and provincial governments, as well as national governments, have played a bigger role as time goes by. Business exploded; in 1901, the Carnegie Company proposed the construction of a new port near Erie at Elk Creek to accommodate shipments from nearby tube mill sites. In 1913, a memorial to the Commodore Perry was built on the island of Put-in-Bay featuring Doric columns.
During the 1919-1933 Prohibition periods, "many of Erie's crossed alcohols" along with "mafia corpses" were thrown into the Detroit River that sometimes drifted on the shores of Pelee Island. According to one account, Al Capone hid "luck" on the wall of a luxury Central Island club, but no money was found in it in 2007 when the building was no longer standing. The club has a basement casino with poker tables and slot machines.
During the 20th century, commercial fishing was prevalent, but so was the boom in the manufacturing industry around the lake, and often rivers and streams were used as sewers to flush untreated waste that ended up in the lake. Sometimes poorly constructed sanitary systems mean that when old mains break, raw sewage will spill directly into Cuyahoga and into the lake. A report in Time magazine in 1969 described the lake as "giant rubbish" because only three of the 62 beaches were rated "absolutely safe for swimming".
In 1975, the popular commercial blue spearfish has been declared extinct, although its declaration may be premature. In the 1980s, there were about 130 fishing vessels with about 3,000 workers, but commercial fishing declined rapidly, especially from the Americans. Great Lakes Compact
Great Lakes Compact
In 2005, the State of Great Lakes of Ohio, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota and the Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec authorized the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Sustainable Water Resources Brief (Brief). The Compact was signed into law by President George W. Bush in September 2008. The international water rights policy is overseen by the Great Lakes Commission, the Compact aims to prevent the diversion of water from the Great Lakes to the far-flung states, as well as to set standards for use and conservation. It has the support of both political parties, including former US Sen. George Voinovich (R-OH) and former Governor Jennifer Granholm (D-MI), but is unpopular in the southwestern countries due to the frequent drought conditions and water scarcity.
Lake Environment
Weather
Lake Erie in winter
Like the other Great Lakes, Erie produces a snow lake effect when the first cold wind passes through the winter on warm water. When the temperature difference between relatively warm surface water and cooler air reaches a threshold of 18 to 23 degrees Fahrenheit (10 to 13 degrees Celsius), then "lake-effect snow becomes possible:"
When cold air flows over warm water, the lake warms and moisturizes the air. Due to warm, moist air is less dense than cold air, hot air rises. The rising air cools and water vapor condenses into droplets of clouds... the efficiency of snow production increases as the wind pushes clouds above the ground. Friction with the ground causes air to accumulate. This convergence of friction creates lift and increases snowfall.
A large snowfall can occur when cold air travels 60 miles (97 km) or longer over a large, non-free lake. Snow-snow effects make Buffalo and Erie the eleventh and thirteenth places throughout the United States respectively, according to data collected from the National Climatic Data Center. Because the wind blows mainly from west to east along the main shaft of the lake, the effects of snow effects on lakes are more pronounced in the eastern part of the lake such as cities like Buffalo and Erie. Buffaloes usually get 95 inches (240 cm) of snow each winter, and sometimes ten feet (3.0 m) of snow; the snowy city is Syracuse, New York, which can receive heavy snowfall both from the effects of lakes and large coastal storms. The storm around Christmas in 2001 hit Buffalo with seven feet of snow.
The lake effect ends or the effect decreases, however, when the lake freezes. In January 2011, for example, Cleveland residents were delighted when Lake Erie was "90 percent frozen" because it meant that the area "made it through the hump" in the event of repeating recurring snowfall that required a lot of spinning. Being the most shallow of the Great Lakes, it is the most likely to freeze and happen often. On February 16, 2010, meteorologists reported that the lake had frozen marking the first time the lake had completely frozen since the winter of 1995-1996. In contrast, Lake Michigan never really froze because the warmer and deeper parts were in the south, though it was almost frozen for three harsh winters during the last century. When the lake freezes, this usually closes the snowfall effect. In recent years, ice lakes are so thick that it is possible to drive or sail on a steamboat; but in the first decade of the 21st century, ice has not been thick enough for such activities. Many inhabitants of the lake take advantage of ice and travel; several trips to Canada and back. Here is a story about the ice life around Put-in-Bay:
The first ice is usually formed at the end of November, and in January locked in place. For the inhabitants of the island in the West Basin, it's the same as the summer vacation... Once the lake freezes, the islanders organize a sudden ice rally. Families gather to drink hot wine and race all-terrain vehicles across the lake. They also raced by sailboat, which resembles a sailboat on a skate... Many people drive to another island to have dinner with friends. They ride the car with the roof and door cut so they can escape if the vehicle falls through the ice. The islanders pierced the pine trees into the ice every 50 meters to mark the route... Even in the coldest winter, there is a dangerous thin layer of ice. Cracks are so predictable that the Ice Put-in-Bay Yacht Club prints them on a map... On a normal winter day, ice is filled with 2,000 fish stalls.
Windy Condition
Strong winds have caused the lake currents to shift the sediments at the bottom, causing "evil shifting sandbars" that have been the source of shipwreck. But the wind can have a peaceful purpose too; there are proposals to place wind turbines producing electricity at windy and shallow points in lakes and along the coast, both in the United States and Canada. In 2010, there is a GE plan to develop five wind turbines to generate 20 megawatts of electricity by 2012 with plans to generate 1,000 megawatts by 2020; one proposal called for a "gearless turbine" with a 176-foot blade assisted by a magnet. The nonprofit development group near Cleveland is developing plans to build hundreds of turbines on the lake. A former steel mill on the eastern edge of the lake in Buffalo, NY has been rebuilt as an urban wind farm in 2007. Known as Steel Winds, the project currently has 14 turbines capable of generating up to 35 megawatts of electricity. A plan by Samsung to build an offshore wind farm on the north shore of the lake, from Port Maitland to Nanticoke at a distance of 15.5 mi (24.9 km), but plans to meet with opposition from the population for a number of reasons. Canadians near Leamington and Kingsville have organized protest groups to thwart efforts to bring wind turbines to lakes; reasons for turbines include damaging lake views and possible adverse effects associated with drinking water and commercial fishing. Plans to install turbines in Pigeon Bay, south of Leamington were met with opposition as well. The idea that migrating birds and bats can be hurt by wind turbines has been used to argue against wind turbines; a journalist at The Globe and Mail wrote "Given the turbine's tendency to make minced meat things in the air, it does not require a big imagination to figure out what's going to happen."
They look like giant aliens attacking farmers' fields. There are 66 of these creatures, each 25 feet high with faces made up of three large mustaches that rotate 11 to 20 times per minute. Standing in the midst of the Erie Shore Wind Farm wind turbine, one feels like a cursed figure in a science fiction movie trapped in moments deadly just before a disaster strikes.
Microclimate
The lake is also responsible for the important microclimate for agriculture. Along the north coast is one of the richest areas of Canadian fruit and vegetable production; This southern tip, especially in the area around Leamington, is known as the "tomato capital" of Canada. The area around Port Rowan in Ontario has a special tree that grows due to the "tempering effect of the lake", and species including tulip trees, flowering dogwood, sassafras and sour candy. In this area there are many greenhouses that produce "a variety of tropical plants rarely cultivated so far north", including some species of cactus, due to the influence of tempering lakes. Along the southeast coast of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York is an important wine growing region, as are the islands of the lake. An abundant apple orchard in northeastern Ohio to western New York.
Long-term weather patterns
According to one estimate, 34 to 36 inches of water evaporates every year from the surface of the lake, allowing for rainfall and other precipitation in the surrounding area. There are conflicting reports about the overall effect of global warming on the Great Lakes region, including Lake Erie. One account shows that climate change leads to larger lake evaporation, leading to warmer temperatures and winter ice that is less thick or absent, fueling concerns that "Erie seems to shrink" and is the most likely candidate among the five Great Lakes "turned into a puddle of mud that broke out." In 2010, Windsor Star reported that the lake experienced a "record-breaking temperature" of 81Ã, ° F (27Ã,  ° C) in mid-August and compared the lake with "bathtub". But long-term weather patterns are subject to controversy.
Ecosystem
Lake Erie has a complex ecosystem with many species in constant interaction. Human activities, such as pollution and maritime ship traffic, can affect this environment in various ways. Interactions between new species can sometimes have beneficial effects, as well as harmful effects. Some introductions have been considered useful such as the introduction of Pacific salmon. Sometimes there is a mass die of certain fish species, sometimes for unknown reasons, such as the vast number of stinking rainbows in May 2010.
Invasive Species
This lake has been plagued with a number of invasive species, including zebra and quagga shells, goby and grass weedfish. One estimate is that there are 180 invasive species on the Great Lakes, some have traveled with ballast water on international ships. Zebra mussels and gobies have been credited with the increasing population and size of smallmouth bass in Lake Erie. In 2008 there were concerns that "the latest invaders roaming the Great Lakes", which are "red-blooded shrimp", might endanger fish populations and increase algal blooms.
Environmentalists and biologists study the condition of the lake through installations such as Franz Theodore Stone Laboratory in Gibraltar Island. The laboratory, founded in 1895, is the oldest biological field station in the United States. Stone Laboratory was donated to Ohio State University by Julius Stone in 1925 as part of the Ohio Sea Grant College University program. In addition, the Great Lakes Institute of the University of Windsor has experts who study issues such as lake sediment pollution and the flow of contaminants such as phosphorus.
The list of common invasive species on Lake Erie includes: Zebra Mussels, Quagga Mussels, Round Gobies, Spiny European Water Fleas, Fishhook Water Fleas, Sea Lamprey, and White Perch. Invasive plant species that fill Lake Erie mainly consist of Eurasia Milfoil, and Purple Loosestrife,
Eutrophication and the famous dead zone
The ongoing concern is that "excess nutrients from manure, manure and animals", known as eutrophication, where additional nitrogen and phosphorus enter the lake, will cause plant life to "run wild and breed like crazy". Because there are fewer wetlands, such as "Natural renal" by filtering out nutrients, as well as larger "drains", nutrients in water can cause algal blooms to grow and "low oxygen dead zones" in complex interactions. natural forces. In the 2010s, much of the phosphorus in the lake came from fertilizers applied to unprocessed soybean and corn fields but washed into the stream by heavy rain. Algae rose from the growth of Microcystis, a poisonous green-blue algae that zebra mussels that occupy the lake do not eat.
There periodically is dead zone , or low oxygen region, in different lakes location. Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have studied algae blue-green lake algae, and are trying to find a way to predict when they are spreading or where they can hit the landing; usually blooms come late every summer. This problem was extremely extreme in the mid and late 1960s and the Elie Lake Wastewater Management Study (LEWMS) conducted by the Buffalo District of the US Army Engineers Corps determined that eutrophication was due to "point sources" such as industrial outfalls and municipal and sewage sanitation storms, and "scattered resources", such as land runoff from agricultural land and forests. All these sources contribute nutrients, especially phosphorus, to the lake. The growth of the organism in the lake then surges to the point where its oxygen content is depleted. LEWMS makes recommendations to reduce sources of source outflows, as well as to reduce the contribution of phosphorus by changing the use of fertilizers, using "no-hold" agriculture and other conservative practices. Many industrial and urban sources have since been greatly reduced. Voluntary, voluntary agricultural practices, followed temporarily, resulted in the remarkable recovery of lakes in the 1970s.
Unfortunately, conservative practices are not monitored, and are not constantly being upgraded. A recent report shows that seasonal algae blooming on Lake Erie is likely caused by "runoff from the city, fertilizers, zebra mussels, and cattle near the water." The second report focuses on zebra shells as the cause of "large oxygen-poor dead zones" because they filter out sediments to produce algal growth. One report showed the poor oxygen zones started around 1993 in the central basin of the lake and became more pronounced during the summer months, but it is rather a mystery why this happened. Some scientists speculate that dead zones are a naturally occurring phenomenon. Another report cites the Maumee River in Ohio as the main source of phosphorus contamination from industry, municipalities, tributaries and agriculture, and in 2008 satellite imagery showed algae extending to Pelee Island, and possibly toward the middle of Lake Erie. There is a $ 2 million two-year study trying to understand the "growth zone" described as "a 10-foot-high cold layer at the bottom", 55 feet (17 m) in one area, which stretches "100 miles across the lake's center". It kills fish and microscopic creatures from the lake's food chain and contaminates water, and can cause further problems in later years for sports and commercial fishing.
Algae bloom continues in early 2013 but new farming techniques, climate change and even changes in the ecosystem of Lake Erie make phosphorus pollution harder. Snap
Lake Erie water snakes, a subspecies of the northern snake ( Nerodia sipedon ), live around the Put-in-Bay Harbor in Ohio, and have been included in the threatened species list. Endangered species are species that are immediately endangered species. In 2010, the water snake population of more than 12,000 snakes. While they have non-venomous bites, they are the main predators in the lake waters ecosystem as they feed on mud and walleye and smallmouth bass. The snake helps in keeping the goby fish population in check. They marry from late May to early June and can be found in large wedge with one female gathering with several men.
Asian goldfish
There is concern that Asian carp may enter the Great Lakes region and change ecosystems negatively. They have been described as "greedy giant that planktons suck from water with a brutal efficiency of vacuum cleaners" and scientists fear that they can break down the "aquatic food net" by muddying other species.
Snakehead fish
There was concern in 2007 that snakehead fish could enter the Great Lakes region. Officials warned that if the fish attacked, it could "destroy the aquatic food chain". The YouTube video mentioned in the newspaper account has a man who claims that the fish can "bite your whole hand". Fish can reach a length of 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) and "survive from water for four days" and "have a mouth full of teeth that can cut fish in half" and can "eat ducks and small mammals." Snakehead fish can not live in a completely frozen lake. They must come to the surface to breathe through their swim bladder.
The size is very large. Move on the ground and breathe the air and will eat anything that comes into contact with it. That's what makes people weird about it, to see a fish moving across the land that swallows the air.
Agriculture and life around the lake
In 1999, the Doppler weather radar sensor detected millions of dragonfly flies to Presque Isle in blue and green spots on a 10-mile (16 km) long cloud radar. This insect is a sign of Lake Erie's step back to health, because the dragonflies need clean water to thrive. The Masteller Biologist from Penn State Erie stated that the insects became "a pleasant distraction" because they signaled the return of the lake to health after forty years of absence. Each is one and a half inches long; the three main species of the mayfly are Ephemera simulans Hexagenia rigida and Hexagenia limbata . Mate insects for 72 hours from June to September; they fly with masses to the beach, mate in the air, then the females put up to 8,000 eggs on the water; eggs sink back and cycle repeatedly. Sometimes a cloud of dragonfly has caused a power outage and causes the road to become slippery with pinched insects. Because zebra mussels filter out the extra nutrients from the lake, it allows the larvae of flies to grow.
There were botulism dying incidents, in 2000, and in 2002. Affected birds included grebes, common and red-breasted mergansers, swallows, diving ducks, seagulls and herring. One account shows that the population of birds in distress, especially the forest-dwellers, who have populations declined by about 60 percent in 2008. Possible causes of the decline in bird populations are agricultural practices, habitat loss, soil depletion and erosion, and toxic chemicals. In 2006, there were fears of possible bird flu after two wild swans in the lake were found ill, but it was known that they did not contain the deadly H5N1 virus. There is a magnificent bird frigatebird sighting, a tropical bird with a wingspan of two meters, above the lake in 2008.
Water quality and recovery issues
Lake Erie inadvertently became highly polluted in the 1960s and 1970s as a result of many heavy industries located in coastal cities, with reports of beaches full of bacteria and fish contaminated by industrial waste. In the 1970s, lake fillings were declared dead from industrial waste and waste from water runoff; as reported by The New York Times reporter Denny Lee in 2004, "The lake, however, is where Rust Belt meets the water."
Water quality deteriorates in part due to increased levels of nutrient phosphorus both in water and sediment lake beds. The high nitrogen levels generated in water cause eutrophication, resulting in algae blooming and the mass of algae and fish killing further polluting the shoreline during this period. There was an oily surface incident of dried river rivers to the burning Erie Lake: in 1969, the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland erupted in flames, recorded in a Time magazine article deploring the tendency to use the stream flowing through the main line. cities as "comfortable and free gutters"; The Detroit River caught fire on another occasion. The outlook is bleak:
Every day, Detroit, Cleveland and 120 other municipalities fill Erie with 1.5 billion gallons of "untreated waste, including nitrates and phosphates... This chemical acts as a fertilizer for the growth of algae that sucks oxygen from lower depths and rises to the surface, as the stench of green... Commercial fish and hunted fish - blue lance, milkfish, sturgeon, northern spear - virtually disappeared, producing water to destroy fish that require less oxygen Weeds proliferate, In short, Lake Erie is in danger of dying from suffocation.
These events embarrass officials and spur on local officials, including Cleveland's public utility director Ben Stefanski, to pursue a massive attempt to "rub Cuyahoga"; this effort requires $ 100 million in bonds, according to one estimate. New channel channel built. Clevelanders approved the issuance of a 2-to-1 bond to significantly improve the Cleveland waste disposal system. Federal officials act as well; The United States Congress passed the Clean Water Act of 1972. That year, the United States and Canada set limits on water pollution under the International Water Quality Agreement. The Corps' AREA, mentioned above, was also instituted at that time. The controls are effective, but it takes several decades to take effect; in 1999, there were signs that a large number of flies were seen in the lake after forty years of absence, signaling the return of health.
Water column cleansing is also partly due to the introduction and rapid deployment of zebra mussels from Europe, which have effects covering "basin flooring like a lovemaking carpet" with each creature filtering "a liter of fresh water a day," helping to restore the lake to a cleaner state. The Great Lake Water Quality Agreement of 1972 also significantly reduces phosphorus discharge and runoff into the lake. The lake has since become quite clean to allow sunlight to infiltrate the water and produce algae and seaweed, but dead zones remain on Lake Erie Basin in the middle during late summer. The US Environmental Protection Agency has been studying this cyclical phenomenon since 2005. There are several examples of beach closures on the Presque Isle off the northwest coast of Pennsylvania due to unexplained E. coli contamination, possibly caused by an overflowing water storm after heavy rains.
Since the 1970s environmental regulations have led to major increases in water quality and the return of economically important fish species such as walleye and other biological life. There was substantial evidence that the new controls had substantially reduced the level of DDT in water in 1979. The cleaning effort was described in 1979 as a famous environmental success story, suggesting that the cumulative effects of laws, studies, and restrictions have reversed the effects of pollution:
Oil clumps, colorful industrial disposal, flotsam from coastal cities, sewage and bacteria waste are no longer thrown in the lake in large quantities.
The US-Canada Joint Agreement encourages 600 out of 864 major industrial discharges to meet the requirements to maintain clean water. One estimate is that $ 5 billion is spent on upgrading plants to treat wastes. The change towards clean water has been in a positive direction since the 1970s.
There is a provisional exploration plan to capture CO 2 , compress it into a liquid form, and pump it half a mile (800 m) below the surface of Lake Erie beneath the porous rock structure. According to chemical engineer Peter Douglas, there is ample storage space under Lake Erie to withstand between 15 and 50 years of liquid CO2 emissions from the Nanticoke 4,000 megawatt coal plant. But there has been no substantial progress on this issue since 2007.
Economy
Fishing
Fish species
Lake Erie is home to one of the largest freshwater commercial fisheries in the world. The Erie Lake fish population is the most abundant of the Great Lakes, partly due to relatively light lake temperatures and plankton abundant supply, which is the basic building block of the food chain. The lake fish population is estimated to be about 50% of all the fish that inhabit the Great Lakes. The lake is "full of superstars" like steelhead, walleye (American usage) or pickerel (Canadian usage), smallmouth bass, perch, as well as bass, trout, salmon, whitefesh, smelt, and many others. The lake consists of a long list of well-introduced species. Common non-native species of fish include melting smelting, alewife, white perch and goldfish. Non-indigenous sports fish such as rainbow trout and brown trout are specially stocked for anglers to be caught. Effort failed to store salmon coho and the amount was once again reduced. The commercial landing is dominated by yellow perch and walleye, with large numbers of smelling rainbows and white bass also taken. Anglers target the walleye and yellow perch, with some effort directed at the rainbow trout. Various other species are taken in smaller quantities by commercial fleets and sports.
Until the late 1950s, the most commonly caught commercial fish (more than 50% of commercial catch) was a walleye subspecies known as blue walleye ( Sander vitreus glaucus ) sometimes mistakenly called " blue spear ". In the 1970s and 1980s, as pollution in lakes declined, the number of walley caught grew from 112,000 in 1975 to 4.1 million in 1985, with an estimated number of walley in lakes about 33 million in river basins, with many 8 pounds or more. Not all walleye thrive. The combination of overfishing and lake eutrophication by pollution caused the population to collapse, and by the mid-1980s, a walleye species called blue walleye was declared extinct. But Lake Erie walleye is reported to have a record figure, even in 1989, according to a report. There is concern about rising levels of mercury in walleye; a study by the Canadian Ministry of Environment noted "increasing concentration trends" but the limit was within accepted set by the authorities in Pennsylvania. Recommended, because the PCB, that people eat no more than one walleye to eat per month. Because of this and other concerns, in 1990, the National Wildlife Federation was on the verge of having "negative fish consumption advisors " for walleye and smallmouth bass, which became a catch of bread and butter. of the $ 800 million commercial fishing industry.
The longest fish in Lake Erie are reported sturgeons that can grow up to ten feet long and weigh 300 pounds, but these are endangered species and mostly live on the lake bottom. In 2009, there were samples of captured sturgeon fish, which were returned to the lake alive, and there is hope that the sturgeon fish population will rise again.
Commercial fishing
Estimates vary about the fishery market for the Great Lakes region. One estimate of the total market for fishing, including commercial or sport or recreational fishing, for all Great Lakes, is $ 4 billion per year, in 2007. The second estimate is that the fishing industry is worth more than $ 7 billion.
But because of the high levels of pollution found in the 1960s and 1970s, there is an ongoing debate about the intensity of commercial fishing that is desirable. Commercial fishing on Lake Erie has been harmed by a bad economy as well as a government regulation that limits the size of their catch; one report stated that the number of fishing boats and employees declined by two-thirds in the last few decades. Another concern is that pollution in lakes, as well as toxins found in fish, work against commercial fishing interests. US fishermen based along Lake Erie "lost their livelihoods" over the last few decades described as "caught in the net of laws and bans", according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and no longer catch fish like milkfish , Vulture for the market in New York. Pennsylvania has a $ 3 special stamp for fishing permits to help "compensate commercial fishermen for their losses," but the program ended after five years of turning Erie's commercial fishing industry into "artifacts". One blames the ban on commercial fishing after a "test of will" between commercial and recreational fishermen: "One side needs a big haul, others are afraid of the lake being emptied."
Commercial fishing is currently largely based in the Canadian community, with much smaller fisheries - largely confined to the yellow perch - in Ohio. One report stated that Canadian fishermen "are alive and making money" and they "know how to fish" by "using old nets." The Ontario fishery is one of the most intensively managed in the world. However, there are reports that some Canadian commercial fishermen are dissatisfied with fishing quotas, and have sued their government on this issue, and there are complaints that the legislature that writes quotas "is dominated by the US" and that sporting sports interest is favored at the expense of fishing commercial. 30 to 45 percent cuts for certain fish were made in 2007. Lake Erie's fishing is one of the world's first fisheries managed on individual transferable quotas and mandatory daily reporting features and intensive audit of the catchment reporting system. However, commercial fisheries are the target of critics who want to see manageable lakes for the exclusive benefits of sport fishing and various industries serving sports fisheries. In November 2010, Ontario's oldest and largest fish processor known as the Great Lakes Fish Corporation closed after a one-year operation; 130 workers were laid off and many spinoff jobs disappeared, such as work in local restaurants and clean workshops. According to one report, the city of Port Dover in Canada is home to the largest fishing fleet on the lake, and the city has miniature golf, dairy bars, French outlets, and restaurants serving perch.
Government regulations on fishing
The lake can be considered a general asset with various purposes including being fishery . There is a direct competition between commercial fishermen and sports fishermen (including charter boats and the sale of fishing licenses) throughout lake history, with both sides seeking government assistance from either Washington or Ottawa, and trying to make their case in public "court" opinions through reporting newspaper. But other groups have also entered the political process, including environmentalists, lakeside property owners, industry owners and workers who are looking for cost-effective solutions to waste, ferry operators, even companies that make wind turbines power plants.
Fisheries management is the consensus of all management agencies with an interest in resources and includes the states of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and the province of Ontario, and works under the mandate of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. The Commission makes judgments using advanced mathematical modeling systems. The Commission has been the focus of considerable defamation, especially from fishing groups and anglers in the US who have a history of antipathy towards commercial fishing interests. This conflict is complicated, dating from the 1960s and earlier, with results in the United States that, in 2011, commercial fishing was largely eliminated from the Great Lakes states. One report shows that fighting between diverse fish interests began around Lake Michigan and evolved to cover the entire Great Lakes region. The analysis shows that in the context of Lake Erie, competition between sports and commercial fishing involves universal and that these conflicts are cultural, not scientific, and therefore can not be overcome with reference to ecological data.
Fishing
The lake also supports strong sports fisheries. While commercial fishing is declining, sport fishing remains. The cool, deep water that spawns the best fish is on the Canadian side of the lake. As a result, a fishing boat that crossed the international border sparked fears of border crossings and fishermen advised to have their passports. If their boat crosses the invisible border line on the lake, upon returning to the American coast, passengers must "go to local government reporting stations and pose for photographs" to customs officers via videophone. There is an impractical rule for fishing vessel operators as well, who must transmit personal passenger information to a government agency one hour before departure; officers will supervise and conduct on-site inspections of patrol boats and government aircraft. "Authorities in 2008 from the Pennsylvania Fish and Fish Commission have been trying to spread lakes with brown trout in an effort to build what is called put-grow-and-take fisheries. There are reports that arrests of rented boats are increasing substantially on the American side, from 46- 638 charter vessels operating in Ohio alone, during the period 1975-1985 as pollution levels declined, and after populations of walleye increased substantially in lakes In 1984, Ohio sold 27,000 fishing licenses instead residents, and sport fishing is described as big business. In 1992, there were fishing accounts catching 8, 10, and 12 pounds of walleye, and that "the dwarf from the daily limit of five people out of 25 walleye might interfere with 5 pounds. "It's possible to lure from the dock in the winter for a fish called burbot, also known by a pseudonym such as eelpout, mudblow, lawyer fish, cusk, or freshwater cod ich look" ugly "but tastes good; burbot makes spawning sprinter winter and is reported as one of Erie's "glacial relics."
Ice fishing
In winter when the lake froze, many fishermen came out on ice, cut holes, and fish. It is even possible to build a bonfire on ice. But venturing on Lake Erie ice can be dangerous. In a bizarre incident in 2009, temperatures and winds of 35 miles per hour and currents propelled to the east dislodged the miles of ice that separated from the shore, trapping more than 130 fishermen offshore; one person died while the rest were saved by helicopter or boat.
The day begins with the fishermen putting down wooden pallets to build bridges over cracks in the ice so they can roam further down the lake. But the boards fell into the water as the ice shifted, dragging the fishermen about 1,000 yards offshore... When the fishermen realized that on Saturday morning the ice had broken, they started arguing the best way. Some chose to sit and wait for the authorities, while others headed east to look for ice bridges... Others managed to land on their own by driving their all-terrain vehicle about five miles east to where the ice did not break away.... When the rescued fishermen managed to reach the shore, the authorities asked them to make a file to record their names.
Agriculture
The previously wider lake of the lake creates a favorable environment for agriculture in the border areas of Ontario, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New York. The Lake Erie section of western New York has a suitable climate for growing grapes, and in Chautauqua County there are many vineyards and wineries in the area as well as in Erie County in northwestern Pennsylvania. Many grape juices are produced in this region. The Canadian region on the north shore of Lake Erie becomes a more prominent wine region as well; has been dubbed the Lake of the Erie North Shore, or LENS region, and includes Pelee Island, and because it is farther north than the comparable wine regions of the world, the seasons are longer in light. Season that grows longer due to lake moderated temperatures makes the risk of early frosts less likely.
The drainage basin has led to good soil. The northern coast of Ohio is widely referred to as its nursery capital.
Tourism
Diving for the wreck
Lake Erie is a favorite for divers as many shipwrecks, perhaps 1,400 to 8,000 according to one estimate, of which around 270 are "confirmed shipwreck locations." Most shipwrecks have not been found but are believed to be well preserved and in good condition and at most only 200 feet (61 m) below the surface of the water. One report shows there is more "junk per square mile" than any other freshwater location, including a NATO shipwreck accident. There are attempts to identify the location of shipwreck and lake floor surveys to map the location of underwater sites, perhaps for further study or exploration. While the lake is relatively warmer than the other Great Lakes, there is a thermocline, which means that as the diver descends, the water temperature drops by about 30 degrees Fahrenheit (17 Â ° C), requiring a wetsuit. One estimate is that Lake Erie has a quarter of the estimated 8,000 shipwrecks on the Great Lakes. They are preserved because cold and salt-free water creates a "whole time capsule there". Divers have a policy of not moving or touching anything in another wreck, "the next person will not be able to see it"; when the artifacts are released on occasion, they are filled with "anger" by the diving community. Cold conditions make diving difficult and "heavy" to require divers with skills and experience. One rental company from western New York State requires about 1,500 divers to the shipwreck on Lake Erie in a typical season from April to October.
Among the diving communities, they are considered world-class, offering the opportunity to visit underwater museums that most people will never see.
In 1991, the 19th century sidewheeler Atlantic was found. It has been sunk in a collision with Ogdensburg, a steamboat is sometimes referred to as a "propeller" according to the 19th century term, in 1852, six miles (9.7 km) west of Long Point, Ontario and the survivors of Atlantic are saved by Ogdensburg . One account showed 130 people drowned while others showed about 20 people drowning. The aftermath of the catastrophe led to calls for the authorities to seize the captains of both ships so that "that the cause of the collision may well be confirmed" as well as calls for more lifeboats and improved preservatives of life since previously proven to be "completely useless." There is speculation that the ship that sank it is a gambling boat, and therefore there may be money on board, but most historians are skeptical. In 1998, the ship's shipwreck Adventure was the first shipwreck registered in the state of Ohio as "undersea archaeological site"; when it was discovered that the Adventure propellers had been transported and delivered to the junkyard, the blades were rescued a few days before being converted into scrap metal and taken back to the dive site and back to their submarine home. In 2003, divers discovered the Canobie steamship near Presque Isle, which sank in 1921. Other shipwrecks include the fish tank Neal H. Dow (1910), Elderado < (1880), WR Hanna , Dundee that sank north of Cleveland in 1900,
The discovery of the well-built British naval warship of Caledonia, drowned during the 1812 War, has led to allegations about site seizures and legal disputes over whether the ship should be backed in time for the warnings of the two centuries of war 2013.
Research on shipwrecks has been organized by the Peachman Lake Erie Shipwreck Research Center, or PLESRC, located on the Great Lakes Historical Society field. In 2008, the Great Lakes Historical Society announced plans to survey the underwater battle site of the Battle of Lake Erie in preparation for the celebration of two centuries of fighting in 2013.
Public park
There are many public parks around the lake. In western Pennsylvania, a wildlife reserve was founded in 1991 in Springfield Township for hiking, fishing, cross-country skiing and walking along the coast. In Ontario, Long Point is a peninsula on the northwest coast near Port Rowan extending 20 miles (32 km) to Lake Erie which is a stopover for migrating birds and turtles; a reporter found a "turtle crossing" sign along the way; Long Point Provincial Park is located there and has been designated as a UNESCO Biosphere reserve. In Ontario's Sand Hill Park, east of Port Burwell, there's gu
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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