Animating the Lake Huron ice bridge breakup

A huge mass of ice at the southern tip of Lake Huron has the Canadian Coast Guard worried, according to the London Free Press and Port Huron Times Herald.

Ice builds up there every year, but a warm spell could break up the mass into chunks too big to flow through the St. Clair River. That happened in 1984 and caused big problems.

The Times Herald has a cool interactive panoramic photo of the ice from the Blue Water Bridge. But suckers for satellite imagery should check out NOAA’s Great Lakes Coast Watch for a bird’s-eye view.

Stringing together a few days’ worth of satellite shots (processed and provided by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Space Science and Engineering Center) provides a time-lapse view of the ice bridge’s early break up.

The Lake Huron ice bridge breaks up into the St. Clair River. Images provided by U of M-W Space Science and Engineering Center and animated by Jeff Gillies.

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