A sinkhole in large bodies of water function as an outlet for water that travels underground and out into the sinkhole.

Did you know they have found sinkholes in our own Great Lakes?  According to the Detroit News scientists are studying the roles sinkholes play in the process of raising the water level of our Great Lakes.  In fact for more than 15 years the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists have been studying Lake Huron sinkholes that are east of Alpena Michigan.

According to the scientist the rains, rivers and streams are contributing to our rising lake levels but the sinkholes also play a small role in the increase in water levels.

Steve Ruberg, the NOAA scientist leading the sinkhole study in Lake Huron started:

If we know what’s happening in a few of them, we can make some estimates about how much groundwater is going into the lakes...There are still areas right here in the Great Lakes that we haven’t really explored.

Greg Dick, an associate professor of earth and environmental sciences at the University of Michigan said:

These sinkholes are exceptional in terms of the type of life they hold...We consider them to be an extreme environment. Usually, we would have to go to Yellowstone Park or the deep sea to see something similar.

In 2016 scientists using new acoustic mapping technology confirmed 14 other sinkholes in a 1.5- by 3-mile area 15 miles off the shore of Alpena.

Steve Ruberg, the NOAA scientist leading the sinkhole study in Lake Huron said “the sinkholes are the width of a football field or larger and range from roughly 60 feet deep closer to shore to 350 feet deep among those located farther offshore”.

Ruberg also said that it is “likely there are other sinkholes throughout Lake Huron and other Great Lakes due to the limestone bedrock that allows for the formation of the structures. There have been reports of as much in Lakes Erie and Michigan.”

Interesting that we have gone to our moon but have not researched many areas on our own planet.

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