Some lakes in Minnesota are taking their time to thaw this spring, setting new “ice-out” records.
Attributed to unusually cool spring temperatures, this satellite image shows lingering ice and white lake landscapes.
The first photo was captured on May 12, 2013, when NASA’s Terra satellite passed over northern Minn.
“Ice-out” is defined in this context as a lake being free of ice, but the definition often varies.
Some define it based on ease of navigation, while others believe a lake has “iced-out” when it’s 90 percent free of ice, according to a report from the Minnesota …

 
Indiana has the highest percentage of facilities with hazardous waste violations in 2012 among the Great Lakes states, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. New York has the lowest.
The figures come from an EPA map that reports state compliance with regulations. The map’s dashboard allows users to choose different measures and different years.
Here are the percentages of large facilities with new hazardous waste violations for each state:
Indiana: 15 percent of 567 large facilities.
Wisconsin: 14 percent of 563 large facilities.
Michigan: 12 percent of 542 large facilities.
Pennsylvania: 10 percent of 1,103 large …

With hundreds of shipwrecks scattered across the bottom of the Great Lakes, divers have access to an unrivaled underwater playground. The freshwater environment lends itself to preserving shipwrecks so well, some ships look ready to board.
Divers tempted to swipe an artifact for their mantle or crank a wheel and pretend to sail away could be fined or even imprisoned. A recent documentary aims to educate those with misguided intentions before it gets that far.
“Sunken Treasure: Preserving Michigan’s Shipwrecks” was recently released by the Michigan Underwater Preserve Council to foster respect …

Michigan farmers who purchased drought-resistant corn last year don’t feel they’ve wasted their money on the more expensive hybrid. Many farmers agree that recent wet weather doesn’t mean there won’t be a drought later this summer.

 
Mr. Great Lakes (Jeff Kart) reports from Bay City, Michigan’s Delta College Q-90.1 FM.
 

 
This week Kart discusses the Greenland ice sheet, Delta College energy forums and transportation improvements in Bay City.
Text at Mr Great Lakes

 
Google Earth has released a cache of time lapsed images that depict the Earth’s changes over the past 28 years.
Users can watch the sprawl over time of Great Lakes cities such as Detroit, Toronto, Chicago, Milwaukee and other places by typing locations in the search field.
The release represents “the most comprehensive picture of our changing planet ever made available to the public,” according to the website’s official blog.
Users can witness the deforestation of the Amazon and glacial retreats in Alaska.
The images were collected as part of a joint mission between …

 
Shawn Malone, owner of Lake Superior Photo, describes the process behind North Country Dreamland as a combination of “luck and persistence.”
Malone is a veteran photographer, who focuses on shooting images of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the Lake Superior Watershed.
This is her first time-lapse compilation. It’s put together with more than 10,000 photo frames and 33 northern Michigan night sky events last year.
These night skyscapes include multiple northern lights scenes, meteor showers, nebulae, planets, constellations, the Milky Way and comets. Many of them were taken over both Lake Superior and Lake …

Surveys from a series of Michigan Sea Grant workshops show growing Lake Huron fish populations and improving attitudes about the Great Lake’s fishery. Researchers gave presentations on invasive species research and management, and experienced anglers in Lake Huron communities attended.

The Great Lakes formed thousands of years ago when a glacier moved across the region and melted. The film “Project:Ice” depicts the important role ice continues to plays in the Great Lakes Basin.
The documentary’s director and executive producer Bill Kleinert joined, WKAR’s Current State to discuss “Project: Ice.” To read more about the film, you can check out an article we published earlier this year about the documentary.
Film explores Great Lakes region’s relationship with ice by EmanueleB

 
By Daniel Badhwa
The city of Duluth, Minn. has launched a new program to restore and plant more trees in urban neighborhoods.
Trees have disappeared from Duluth due to higher energy costs, pollution and unhealthy growing environments.
The city of Duluth established the Re-Leaf program three years ago after setting aside a $5,000 annual budget to re-leaf the city.
Urban trees provide shade for houses and businesses and soak up rainwater to lessen polluted runoff into lakes and streams. To many people though, urban trees simply provide a more pleasant living environment.
“One of the …