Coast Guard proposes changing lighthouse lenses

Steam rises over Lake Michigan after the warmer water meets the frigid cold temperatures Sunday in Kewaunee. The lighthouses in Kewaunee and Algoma would have their lenses replaced with more energy-efficient ones under a proposal from the Coast Guard Great Lakes.

The Algoma and Kewaunee lighthouses would have their lenses replaced, according to a proposal by the U.S. Coast Guard Great Lakes.

The Frensel classical lenses would be removed from the the Algoma Pierhead and the Kewaunee Pierhead lighthouses.

They would be replaced with modern light-emitting-diode (LED) lanterns, which are more dependable and energy efficient.

The Frensel lenses would be removed and preserved. Due to the harsh environmental conditions including temperature fluctuations and ultraviolet rays, the lenses slowly deteriorate, said the Coast Guard Great Lakes, based in Cleveland, Ohio. Once removed, the lenses may be loaned to a local museum where they would be maintained in a controlled environment and placed on display.

The Fresnel lens is named after the 18th-century French physicist Augustine Fresnel, who devised the technique of using glass prisms to boost and direct light from a lighthouse out over the water.

Comments about the lens removal can be addressed to Wayne Kean, Coast Guard Civil Engineering Unit, Cleveland, Ohio, 216-902-6258 or [email protected] until Jan. 31.