October 26, 2018

On this date in 1825, the Erie Canal was completed in upstate New York in the northeastern United States. The Erie Canal was the first important national waterway built in the United States. It crossed New York from Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany to Troy on the Hudson River. The canal joined the Atlantic Ocean with the Great Lakes system. It provided a route over which manufactured goods and settlers could flow into the Midwest without passing through Canada, and over which timber and agricultural products could be transported back to the East Coast.

Many boats, like these in Fairport, New York, continue to navigate the Erie Canal. The canal opened 193 years ago today on Oct. 26, 1825. Credit: © Leonard Zhukovsky, Shutterstock

For a hundred years before the Erie Canal was built, people had been talking about a canal that would join the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean. The man who planned the Erie Canal and carried the plans through was De Witt Clinton. Clinton was mayor of New York City for most of the period between 1803 and 1815. He was governor of the state from 1817 to 1822 and again from 1825 until his death in 1828. Those who opposed the canal laughingly called it “Clinton’s Ditch.”

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The Erie Canal crosses New York from Buffalo on Lake Erie to Troy and Albany on the Hudson River. Credit: WORLD BOOK map

In 1816, after failing to secure federal funding, Clinton petitioned the New York State Legislature to build the canal. His petition won so much support that the governor appointed a canal commission and made Clinton its head. Clinton became governor in 1817, and shortly afterward, on July 4, 1817, broke ground for the canal in Rome, New York, then a village on the Mohawk River. The canal opened after eight years of construction on Oct. 26, 1825. The first barge to travel its entire length, Seneca Chief, left Buffalo with Clinton on board on that day. It arrived in New York City on November 4 and was greeted all along the way by enthusiastic crowds.

The building of the canal was paid for by the state of New York. It cost $7,143,789, but it soon earned its price many times over. The canal cut freight rates between Buffalo and New York City by more than 90 percent and strengthened New York City’s position as the nation’s largest city and principal port. As the canal traffic grew, towns along its course prospered. Albany, Utica, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo became major cities.

The canal was enlarged several times between 1835 and 1862. But business began to fall off in the 1870’s as railroads became the main long-distance carriers of freight and passengers. In 1903, the people of New York voted to build a great modern waterway, linking the Erie Canal with three shorter canals in the state to form what now is called the New York State Canal System. This system, which is 524 miles (843 kilometers) long, opened in 1918.

November 29, 2012

New research has, for the first time, added the Great Lakes, the world’s largest group of freshwater lakes, to the list of marine ecosystems polluted by plastics. In recent years, seagoing vessels and scientific expeditions have encountered huge areas of floating plastic garbage in both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. One area in particular, dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, extends over an area about the size of the state of Texas.

Scientists have raised the alarm about this plastic pollution, which is particularly worrisome because the material does not break down easily. Sea birds, turtles, seals, whales, and other marine animals can get tangled in plastic nets, bags, and packing material. These animals may also mistake plastic items for food and die of starvation if the plastic blocks their digestive system.

Scientists have found, however, that much, if not most, of the plastic pollution consists of tiny, even microsopic, pieces of plastic. In the oceans, plastics are gradually broken apart by sunlight and wave action, producing smaller and smaller pieces. Small marine animals, such as small fish, feed on the tiniest plastic pieces, which they mistake for tiny, drifting animals called plankton. As a result, toxic chemicals from the plastic become concentrated in their body tissue. These toxins are passed up the food chain, becoming more and more concentrated, as larger animals feed on smaller ones. This toxic food chain ultimately leads to human consumers of seafood.

The Great Lakes are Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario. The lakes hold about 18 percent of the world's fresh surface water. (World Book map)

Similar microplastic was collected from three of the Great Lakes–Erie, Huron, and Superior–by scientists headed by environmental chemist Sherri Mason of the State University of New York at Fredonia. In an article published on the website Discovery.com, Mason speculated that most of the tiny pieces collected came from plastic bottle caps, chips from boats, and polyethelene microbeads. These plastic beads, which are added to many commercial facial cleansers, pass through water-treatment plants without being broken down.

Additional World Book articles:

• Conservation (Ocean conservation)
• Environmental pollution
• Lake Michigan
• Lake Ontario

March 23, 2012

The amount of ice covering the five Great Lakes in winter has decreased significantly, says a new report, and researchers warn that the loss could have a substantial impact on water quality and habitats in the region. The report, released by the American Meteorological Society (AMS), identifies an average decline of about 71 percent over the past 40 years. Measured losses vary from year to year and lake to lake. The Great Lakes are Lakes Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior.

Researchers examined satellite photos and United States Coast Guard reports of ice coverage from 1979 to 2010. Lake Ontario, the smallest of the Great Lakes, showed the biggest decrease, with coverage falling by 88 percent. Coverage fell by 79 percent on Lake Superior, the largest of the lakes. The AMS also noted that only about 5 percent of the Great Lakes’ surface froze over this winter, though those data do not appear in the report. On average, the lakes have about 40 percent coverage in winter.

Together, the Great Lakes make up 18 percent of the world’s fresh surface water. Shrinking ice coverage on the lakes may speed up wintertime evaporation, leading to lower water levels and increased erosion along the shoreline. Lack of ice may also lead to an increase in algae blooms, which damage water quality.

The Great Lakes are the world's largest group of freshwater lakes. Declining levels of ice coverage may threaten the lakes and their surrounding habitats. (World Book map)

The report’s lead author, Jia Wang of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lab in Ann Arbor, Michigan, says the loss may be at least partly the result of climate change. Wang also noted that smaller climate patterns, such as El Nino and La Nina, may have played a role. “We are seeing the impact of global warming here in the Great Lakes,” says Wang, “but the natural variability is at least as large a factor.”

Additional World Book articles:

• Lessons from Lake Erie
• St. Lawrence Seaway
  
• Water (The water supply problem)