Surfing on unconventional waves has grown in popularity in recent decades, with surfers who live far from the ocean satisfying their wave-riding desires through wave pools, wind-generated surf on large lakes, or, even in the middle of major cities, standing river waves or tidal bores. Yet the same global heating that is raising sea levels and intensifying already devastating storms on the world’s oceans is likewise changing its freshwater environments. As climate scientists have made clear, the heating planet will almost certainly feature dramatic swings in weather, with both droughts and torrential downpours a growing global reality. This will have an effect on water levels and temperatures and thus on future freshwater surfing conditions, including the availability of fresh water for large, energy-intensive wave pools. Focusing especially on Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area, this chapter explores the possible future of unconventional surfing.

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Unconventional Waves on a Heating Planet

  • Scott Laderman

摘要

Surfing on unconventional waves has grown in popularity in recent decades, with surfers who live far from the ocean satisfying their wave-riding desires through wave pools, wind-generated surf on large lakes, or, even in the middle of major cities, standing river waves or tidal bores. Yet the same global heating that is raising sea levels and intensifying already devastating storms on the world’s oceans is likewise changing its freshwater environments. As climate scientists have made clear, the heating planet will almost certainly feature dramatic swings in weather, with both droughts and torrential downpours a growing global reality. This will have an effect on water levels and temperatures and thus on future freshwater surfing conditions, including the availability of fresh water for large, energy-intensive wave pools. Focusing especially on Lake Superior, the world’s largest freshwater lake by surface area, this chapter explores the possible future of unconventional surfing.