LakeNet - Lakes

Superior

General Information

Description	Lake Superior is the fourth largest lake in the world by volume, exceeded only by the Caspian, Baikal and Tanganyika. Superior is the largest, deepest and coldest Laurentian Great Lake. Although water quality has improved dramatically from the eutrophic conditions in the 1970's, and there is much greater regulation of point-source pollution, Lake Superior still faces significant challenges in tackling non-point source pollution, invasives, high concentrations of toxic chemicals and habitat alteration. Climate change is also affecting the lake. Superior is one of the most rapidly warming lakes in the world. Measured evaporation rates are on the rise. The lake has lost 79% of its ice cover and lake levels have fluctuated below the long-term average since an extreme event weather event in 1997-98.

Country	Canada United States of America

Latitude	47° 50' 0" (47.8333)

Longitude	-87° 0' 0" (-87.0000)

State	Michigan Minnesota Wisconsin

Lake Region	Laurentian Great Lakes

River Basin	Saint Lawrence

Maps

	Superior global index map (LakeNet Explorer)

	Largest Lakes in the World by Area (LakeNet Explorer 2004)

	Largest Lakes of the World by Volume (LakeNet Explorer 2004)

	Laurentian Great Lakes locator map

	Lake Basin Management Initiative (LakeNet Explorer)

Physical Characteristics

Description	Superior's origins are glacial and tectonic.

Volume	12,100.00 km³

Surface Area	82,100.00 km²

Depth	Mean depth: 147.0 m Maximum depth: 406.0 m

Residence Time	191.0 years

Age	0 - 10,000 years before present

Origin	Glacial

Type	Fresh Permanent Natural

Catchment	Catchment size: 127,700.00 km² Catchment/surface area ratio: 2:1

Socio-Political

Economic Value	Half of Canadian manufacturing and one-fifth of U.S. manufacturing are based on the Great Lakes freshwater coasts. The binational region accounts for about 60 percent of steel production in North America. Pulp and paper plants, high tech and chemical industries also rely on the Great Lakes for water or for transportation of their goods. (GLIN 2003)

Major Cities	Duluth, Minnesota U.S. Thunder Bay, Canada Marquette, Michigan U.S.

Watershed Management

Description

Watershed Action Plan	Implementation underway

Issues

Other Issues	Climate Change Nutrient pollution Health Advisories - Fish Invasive Species Polluted runoff Point source pollution Sediment contamination Erosion Toxics Watershed habitat alteration

Specific Contaminants	Industrial Mercury

Monitoring

Monitoring Programs	In-Lake Water Quality Biological Resources and Habitats Lake Use

Biodiversity Conservation

Description	Plant and animal communities have been highly modified by human intervention, including the intentional and unintentional introduction of invasive species.

Designations	LakeNet Biodiversity Priority WWF Global 200 WWF Conservation Status Priority II

Species of Concern

Biological Distinctiveness	Continentally outstanding

Organizations

•	Council of Great Lakes Governors

•	Lake Superior Basin Project

•	Lake Superior Alliance

•	Lake Superior Water Trail of Minnesota

•	Save Lake Superior Association

•	Lake Superior Steelhead Association

•	Great Lakes Information Network

•	International Joint Commission

•	TEACH Great Lakes

•	Great Lakes Panel on Aquatic Nuisance Species

•	Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum

•	Michigan Land Use Institute

•	Great Lakes United

•	Wisconsin Lake Partnerships

•	Wisconsin Association of Lakes

•	Great Lakes National Program Office

•	U.S. Geological Survey, Great Lakes Science Center

•	Michigan Sea Grant

•	Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Lake Programs

•	Great Lakes Protection Fund

•	National Wildlife Federation, Lake Superior Project

•	Great Lakes Commission

•	International Association for Great Lakes Research

•	Lake Superior Binational Forum

•	Steering Committee of the Integrated Atmospheric Deposition Network

•	U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service - Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

•	Alliance for the Great Lakes

•	Great Lakes Interagency Task Force

•	Healing Our Waters

•	Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

LakeNet Programs

•	World Lake Basin Management Initiative

•	Exchanges Among Environmental Specialists on 20 Lakes in the Former Soviet Union and in Eastern & Central Europe

•	LakeNet 2000: A Dialogue on Participatory Watershed Management

•	LBMI Regional Experience Sharing and Review Workshop for Europe, Central Asia & the Americas

•	U.S. NGO Delegation Visit to Japan, March 2003

Documents

•	Great Lakes (North American) (PDF) Experience Brief. Final. MacDonagh-Dumler et al.. 2/27/2006.

•	LakeNet News, Winter 2003-2004 (PDF) Newsletter. Final. English. 12/20/2003.

•	Managing Lake Basins for Sustainable Use - Lake Basin Management Initiative Final Report (PDF) Project Report. Final. English. 2/27/2006.

Resources

•	2005 Invasive Species Education Program

•	A Methodology For Identifying and Classifying Aquatic Biodiversity Investment Areas: Application in the Great Lakes Basin

•	An electronic atlas of Great Lakes ice cover, winters 1973 - 2002

•	Bi-National Strategy for the Virtual Elimination of Persistent Toxic Substances in the Great Lakes Basin

•	Biodiversity Conservation of the World's Lakes: A Preliminary Framework for Identifying Priorities

•	Biodiversity of freshwater mussels in the lower Great Lakes drainage basin (1997)

•	Canada-US Great Lakes Binational Toxics Strategy

•	Crop Explorer - Global Reservoir and Lake Elevation Monitoring

•	Crop Explorer - Lake Level Variations from TOPEX/POSEIDON and Jason-1 Altimetry for Lake Superior

•	GEMStat - Global Water Quality Data and Statistics

•	GLNPO: Lake Superior Web Page (includes links to Management Plans)

•	Great Lakes Basin Water Management Initiative: Sustainable Water Resources Agreement

•	Great Lakes Monitoring Programs

•	Great Lakes Strategy 2002: A Plan for the New Millennium

•	Human Dimensions of Great Lakes Fisheries Management

•	ILEC Database

•	Introduction to Great Lakes traditional culture

•	Lake Superior Lakewide Management Plan - LaMP

•	Large-Scale Ecosystem Restoration: Lessons for Existing and Emerging Initiatives

•	Marsh Monitoring Program

•	Michigan Sea Grant: Publications Catalogue

•	Priority Areas for Conservation of Aquatic Biodiversity in the Western Great Lakes Basin

•	Superior Advisory Number 229

•	The Conservation of Biological Diversity in the Great Lakes Basin: Issues & Opportunities

•	Wisconsin's Aquatic Sciences Center

News

•	4/12/2013 - New Concerns About Plastic Pollution in Great Lakes ‘Garbage Patch’

•	1/10/2013 - New Great Lakes Map Highlights Environmental Threats and Opportunities

•	1/4/2013 - Lakes Michigan and Huron Fall to Record Low Levels

•	12/17/2012 - Environmental Threat Map Highlights Great Lakes Restoration Challenges

•	11/20/2012 - Warming Lakes: Climate Change and Variability Drive Low Water Levels on the Great Lakes

•	10/17/2012 - Great Lakes levels near all-time low

•	7/30/2012 - Lake Superior Heating up in 2012

•	7/13/2012 - New risk assessment validates threat from Asian carp and points to Chicago-area waterways as most likely pathway into the Great Lakes

•	7/13/2012 - US and Canada: Report says Asian carp could thrive in Great Lakes

•	3/10/2012 - Great Lakes ice coverage falls 71 percent over 40 years, researcher says

•	1/1/2012 - Great Lakes: Closing off the Carp

•	12/8/2011 - Climate Change and other Threats to the World's Goliaths

•	2/25/2010 - Great goals for the Great Lakes

•	1/14/2009 - Great Lakes Water Levels Sensitive To Climate Change

•	8/16/2007 - Biggest Great Lake Seen Heading For Record Lows (Canada, US)

•	3/19/2007 - Canada to clean up polluted spots on Great Lakes

•	2/5/2007 - Data shows warming eventually will shrink Great Lakes

•	8/4/2006 - Michigan Island Steeps in Sewage Dispute

•	8/4/2006 - Great Lakes Forever, Budweiser, and Anheuser-Busch Wholesalers Coast Into Partnership to Protect the Great Lakes

•	5/8/2006 - Group reviewing dated Great Lakes treaty

•	5/1/2006 - New Zealand Mudsnails Found in Duluth-Superior Harbor

•	12/21/2005 - Watershed Council hails recent Great Lakes initiatives; question funding commitment

•	12/14/2005 - 2 pacts prohibit diversion of Great Lakes water

•	9/13/2005 - Dozens of songbirds found dead in Lake Superior

•	4/20/2005 - Invasive species in most Great Lakes ships

•	4/18/2005 - In a Pickle: The Mystery of the North Shore's Salty Well Water (Lake Superior)

•	4/7/2005 - Disappearing Lakes, Shrinking Seas

•	1/18/2005 - Immediate action sought to protect Great Lakes from invaders

•	12/17/2004 - Environmental groups file brief in Great Lakes beach case

•	10/22/2004 - Parliamentary committee to study Great Lakes deal

•	9/17/2004 - Great Lakes Plagued By Pollution

•	8/25/2004 - Pollutants linger in lakes, EPA report says

•	7/19/2004 - Great Lakes speak out on invasive species

•	7/16/2004 - New Great Lakes rules expected on Monday

•	6/17/2004 - Lack of Public Outcry Abour Aquatic Invasive Introduction into the Great Lakes Frustrates Conservation Organization

•	5/23/2004 - Great Lakes conservation efforts taking a dive with politics

•	5/19/2004 - Federal task force to lead Great Lakes clean-up

•	5/13/2004 - Corps of Engineers vs. carp: The fight for the Great Lakes

•	5/6/2004 - Gulls reflect change in Great Lakes pollutants

•	4/23/2004 - Towards a Lake Basin Management Initiative

•	4/8/2004 - Native cormorants? Not in Great Lakes

•	3/13/2004 - Cox shouldn't ignore issue of tainted ship water

•	2/10/2004 - Time for Immediate Action to Protect the Great Lakes from Invasion

•	1/29/2004 - Bush administration proposes major new funding for Great Lakes clean-up

•	1/27/2004 - Leading Great Lakes Citizen's Groups call on Bush Administration to halt changes to sewage pathogen policy

•	1/19/2004 - Biologists help prehistoric fish make a comeback

•	12/1/2003 - From Lake Superior to a caviar spoon

•	11/8/2003 - Study: dioxins may have wiped out Laurentian Great Lakes trout

•	7/20/2003 - Lake Superior north shore said under threat from U.S. road-building company

•	6/9/2003 - Commercial use of aquifers could strain Great Lakes

•	5/16/2003 - A snail from New Zealand that reproduces itself by cloning found in Lake Superior

•	5/15/2003 - Five dozen scientists call invasive species the most urgent environmental threat to the Great Lakes & Mississippi River Basin: Barriers urged for area rivers

•	4/30/2003 - Toxic algae threatens Great Lakes; U.S. funding is sought to combat outbreaks

•	3/16/2003 - Michigan worried thirsty states may be eyeing Great Lakes

•	2/27/2003 - New food chain threat musseling into Laurentian Great Lakes

•	2/11/2003 - Organism is disappearing from Great Lakes

•	2/1/2003 - Saving Canada's endangered mussels

•	12/15/2002 - Lake Superior's deep-water donut mystery

•	12/9/2002 - New report on urban nonpoint source pollution released for Great Lakes policymakers

•	10/21/2002 - Tests find drug taint in water

•	10/19/2002 - Alien species named lakes' top enemy

•	9/19/2002 - Invasive perch nearing Lake Winnebago

•	7/21/2002 - Scientists recommend a fresh look at fresh water

•	7/12/2002 - Experts say big Asian carp threatens Great Lakes

•	5/6/2002 - Mapping underground water supplies

•	2/24/2002 - A sight to see: ice caves on Lake Superior islands

•	10/7/2001 - Researchers track hormone-disrupted fish

•	9/11/2001 - Looking for lampreys

•	8/4/2000 - Scientists try shock treatment for invaders (US, Canada)

•	11/9/1999 - Toxic mud fouls U.S. waters

•	2/17/1998 - In search of bad weather: scientists study lake-effect winter storms

Additional Data Sources

•	Birkett, C., and I. Mason. 1995. A new global lakes database for remote sensing programme studying climatically sensitive large lakes. Journal of Great Lakes Research, 21 (3) 307-318.

•	Duker, L. and L. Borre. 2001. Biodiversity conservation of the world's lakes: a preliminary framework for identifying priorities. LakeNet Report Series Number 2. Annapolis, Maryland USA.

•	International Lake Environment Committee, the United Nations Environment Program and Environment Agency, Government of Japan. 1997. World Lakes Database.

•	US EPA (2004) National Listing of Fish Advisories Database

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