Climate change effects on the surface temperature, ice coverage, & water levels of Lake Superior

Abstract

Lake Superior’s surface water temperature, water level, and ice cover are all suggested to be changing with increased atmospheric temperatures caused by climate change. This thesis uses data from 1995-2022 to determine if similar results can be found using a linear regression analysis. The only significant finds were of a yearly water level increase and summer atmospheric temperature increase. However, it was found that surface water temperature, ice cover, and atmospheric temperatures showed similar patterns. More research is needed to further evaluate the impacts of climate change on Lake Superior.