Scientists measure evaporation at lighthouse
June 09, 08 by TheFleetIf you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
by JOHN FLESHER | Source: AP/mlive.com
For more than a century, the Stannard Rock lighthouse existed for one purpose: warning mariners away from a deadly reef lurking just below the surface of Lake Superior.
Now it has a new mission. Scientists have placed equipment atop the 110-foot-high structure, hoping to determine how much of the giant lake’s water is being sucked into the atmosphere.
… It’s widely believed that evaporation causes about half the water loss each year from Lake Superior, said Jay Austin, assistant professor with the University of Minnesota at Duluth’s Large Lake Observatory.
But the numbers are based on computer models. The Stannard Rock experiment is intended to provide the first direct evaporation measurements.
