The climate is changing. Weather patterns are shifting. The globe is warming — and that includes the Great Lakes.

The five interconnected freshwater North American lakes attract significant study in the summer, but they are not such a magnet in the winter — and a group of scientists says that needs to change as air and water temperatures rise, resulting in a shorter winter season. 

As it stands, almost all monitoring on the lakes is done during the spring, summer and early fall months when there'…