
Lake Michigan Is So Clear Its Shipwrecks Are Visible from the Air - rmason
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/sunken-ships-lake-michigan-are-visible-ghostly-blue-180955108/?no-ist
======
mikestew
I was waiting for the part where they explain that the water is so clear
because of invasive non-native mussels that have pretty much taken over. In
other words the lake isn't clear because it's clean, it's clear because it's
dead.

So when new EPA regulations kick in that allow ships to now dump their bilge
and ballast liquids anywhere they like, expect to get more of this.

(Best link I can find for a quick search:
[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2672/what-is-the-
ze...](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2672/what-is-the-zebra-mussel-
doing-to-lake-michigan))

~~~
a2tech
You're talking about the zebra mussel. I'm good friends with a bunch of very
dedicated folks who are employed to protect the lakes (the Great Lakes that
is). The zebra mussel was a terrible invasive species but isn't nearly as
terrible as some of the other new options-for example Asian carp. We've
managed to claw back some funding for the Great Lakes in the most recent round
of budget cuts but it's not nearly enough. Something that needs to be
addressed is Chicago and it's complete refusal to sever its waterways from the
Great Lakes-through Chicago we have a straight line to the Mississippi and
from there to the gulf and god knows what coming in. Just one more example of
Chicago ruining things in Michigan.

~~~
xyzzy_plugh
I spent some of my youth on a lake absolutely overrun with zebra mussels. You
couldn't even see any sand, just shells. It sucked.

Nearly 15 years later, they're all gone. I don't know why. No one on the lake
needs to use water shoes and the beaches are beautiful.

I understand that zebra mussels suck and are terrible for the great lakes, but
do we understand the long term repurcussions?

~~~
Declanomous
I'm guessing the zebra mussels died as their food source became less common. I
was a bio major, and there's a name for the population collapse that happens
when a species gets access to a new food source, grows quickly, and then
collapses, but I forgot what it is.

I'll have to look at my population dynamics book later to see if I can
remember.

~~~
khuey
Overshoot and collapse, most likely.

~~~
sreenadh
Pardon me. I am clueless about Biology.

By collapse, you mean all dead & extinct in the lake? As in, there is 0%
chance of them returning from the dead like the eggs that are laid which is
start growing once there is new food source?

If the zebra mussel are all dead, would it be possible to transplant a family
of fish from some other lake, so they can start a life in Lake Michigan and
bring it back to life?

~~~
narrowrail
I caught about 20, ~8lbs. lake trout on Lake Michigan last summer. The lake is
_not_ literally dead.

~~~
Nannooskeeska
For the last 3 summers, my family and I have gone salmon fishing with a
charter company [1] in Lake Michigan near Algoma, WI. Each year we've caught
~15-20 fish. From my limited experience I have to agree with you.

[1]: [http://kinnskatch.com/](http://kinnskatch.com/)

------
wiremine
Michigander here: not really a comment on this article per say, but if you've
never visited the lakes, you should come by (during summer) and check them
out.

Some good spots on the Lake Michigan side (which I'm most familiar with):

Sleeping Bear Dunes:
[http://www.sleepingbeardunes.com/](http://www.sleepingbeardunes.com/)

Saugatuck Dunes: [http://www.michigan.org/property/saugatuck-dunes-state-
park](http://www.michigan.org/property/saugatuck-dunes-state-park)

Mackinac Bridge:
[http://www.mackinacbridge.org/](http://www.mackinacbridge.org/)

(BTW, the last "c" in Mackinac" is silent)

Ludington State Park:
[http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=46...](http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?id=468&type=SPRK)

Petoskey State Park:
[http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?type=...](http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?type=SPRK&id=483)

Traverse City: [https://www.traversecity.com/](https://www.traversecity.com/)

Holland:
[http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?type=...](http://www.michigandnr.com/parksandtrails/Details.aspx?type=SPRK&id=458)

~~~
aisofteng
Tangential, but it's "per se"; the phrase comes from Latin.

~~~
akx
And extra tangential, but "perse" is pejorative Finnish for "ass".

------
freehunter
Still interesting, but posted on April 27, 2015. Not exactly "right now".

~~~
ReverseCold
Title needs a (2015), yes.

------
samsamoa
Great explanation of this: [http://nautil.us/issue/46/balance/the-cancer-of-
the-great-la...](http://nautil.us/issue/46/balance/the-cancer-of-the-great-
lakes)

------
lithos
I was more amazed at how many ads they could fit on my screen.

~~~
Animats
Here's what needs to be blocked:

\- [x+1] (No idea who they are)

\- Doubleclick Ad Exchange Buyer

\- Google Publisher Tags

\- QuantCast

\- ShareThrough

\- Google Analytics

\- Scorecard Research Beacon

\- WebTrends

\- Google AJAX search API (Google killed that last year)

\- Google Tag Manager

\- Facebook Connect

\- Disqus

\- ZergNet

\- Po.St ("The Most Advanced Social Sharing Platform for Brands")

\- Ooyalya Player

\- pages03.net -> mkt932.com -> silverpop.com -> IBM Watson Campaign
Automation (Skynet v0.1?)

~~~
figgis
Looked up x+1

[https://www.abine.com/blog/2012/x1/](https://www.abine.com/blog/2012/x1/)

 _[x+1] is a data-driven marketing tool that profiles consumers as they browse
online, which in turn lets companies estimate the lifetime value of those
potential customers. It also lets companies target people in most of the
places they go online: their email inboxes, their chats, the websites they
visit, and more._

~~~
hengheng
I wonder when they will start naming their shit by what is hardest to Google.

~~~
fennecfoxen
Only when their customer base finds them exclusively by not-Google.

------
joelg
That's neat, but the pictured shipwreck is only in 6 feet of water. Lake
Superior often has visibility of 100 feet or deeper! I remember canoeing on
the lake with my dad and seeing the bottom of the lake crystal-clear, 70 feet
down. Surreal.

[https://www.google.com/search?q=lake+superior+water+visibili...](https://www.google.com/search?q=lake+superior+water+visibility&tbm=isch)

------
bougiefever
I remember being able to see the bottom clearly in 30+ feet of water. Truly
beautiful!

------
dripdrapdroop
Thats from 2015

------
dripdrapdroop
Thats from 2015.

------
alokedesai
This is at least the second time this article has been posted on HN over the
years
([https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%09Lake%20Michigan%20Is%20So%2...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=%09Lake%20Michigan%20Is%20So%20Clear%20Right%20Now%20Its%20Shipwrecks%20Are%20Visible%20from%20the%20Air&sort=byPopularity&prefix&page=0&dateRange=all&type=story)).
Makes it to the front page pretty much every time

~~~
mwnivek
> Makes it to the front page pretty much every time

All 2 times?

