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Tom Mackay reckons his backyard in Duluth shows what is happening in Lake Superior as well as any place. In November 2005, the metre-tall wooden “Bay Ness Monster” statue he installed in the water just off his home dock was submerged up to its gaping mouth. Today, his would-be water serpent is high and dry.

For residents of this lakeside Minnesota city, located more than 3000 kilometres by boat from the open Atlantic, the transformation is disturbing. Lake Superior, the largest body of fresh water in the world by surface area, is experiencing its lowest water levels since the record…

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