Climate
Ice forming along Chicago River
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The Chicago River just west of where it enters Lake Michigan with what is known as brash ice, floating fragments of ice usually less than two meters across. Image: Greg Monahan
Echo
Big lakes, big sound
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Folks in our neck of the woods tend to be a bit biased regarding big lakes. That’s understandable when 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water flows through our region. But are North America’s lakes the greatest of lakes? That depends on how you measure. Lake Superior has a surface area of 31,700 square miles dwarfing Siberia’s Lake Baikal’s mere 12,248 square miles. But at 25 million years old and with a depth of 5,600 feet (Lake Superior is only 1,330 feet deep), Lake Baikal is the oldest, deepest lake in the world.
Echo
Radar, algorithm analyze Great Lakes ice for boats, fisheries, forecasters
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Think all ice is the same?
That’s not the case on the Great Lakes.
And now scientists have found out how to detect the differences.
With math.
Film explores Great Lakes region’s relationship with ice
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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
Water
Photo Friday: Thawing ice on Lake Michigan
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In this photograph from NASA’s Earth Science Photo of the Day, a January thaw caused this ice shelf on the Lake Michigan shoreline to collapse near Winnetka, Ill., according to photographer Neil Libby. As successive winter storms buffet the coast with strong winds and large waves, icy slush builds up on the newly-formed shore ice, creating ice shelves. The ice shelf pictured here stood 8 feet above the water.
Echo
Videographer captures northern Michigan winter
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Snow and Ice: A Northern Michigan Winter from Jason Whalen on Vimeo. Jason Whalen strapped on his snowshoes, loaded his camera equipment onto a sled, and set out for the snow-covered wilds of the north coast of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula to capture the icy beauty of its winter months. “I’ve always seen pictures of the frozen waterfalls, and ice caves there, but never had the chance to go myself before,” the Lansing-based videographer said, “I had a free weekend, so I went up there to record them so that others could share in the experience. I think more people respond to video than still photos.”
Whalen’s video odyssey took him to the Eben Ice Caves near Marquette, Mich. and then to Lake Superior’s coast to film ice floating on rolling waves.
Climate
Sea ice in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
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The Gulf of St. Lawrence, the outlet of the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean, is building toward its annual peak accumulation of sea ice, according to a recent photograph captured from NASA’s Aqua satellite. According to NASA, each year, the amount of frozen seawater, known as sea ice, in the Arctic Ocean builds from September through February or March as surface air temperatures drop below freezing. As it reaches the peak of its expansion, it begins to form in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
Echo
Making a living on thin ice
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Climate change affects the economy in a variety of ways.
It’s tough on winter festivals.
But operating on thin ice is good for at least one business.
Echo
Satellites reveal scant Great Lakes ice cover
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A composite map of the Great Lakes produced by NOAA’s CoastWatch organization shows near-historic low ice coverage across the region. The map, known as the Great Lakes Surface Environmental Analysis, is a composite of data taken from NOAA satellites orbiting the earth’s poles and radar scans of the lakes by the National Ice Center. The resulting image shows surface water temperature and ice coverage, important data for region scientists, fishermen and boaters. The map’s data is updated daily. “Previously, the lowest ice coverage year was 2002,” CoastWatch manager George Leshkevich said.
Echo
Satellite watch: Animated Lake Huron ice breakup
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Worry wanes over the chance of flooding brought on by the melting ice bridge at the southern tip of Lake Huron. But a few freighters heading through the St. Clair River have gotten stuck in ice chunks that are gathered up like “sand bunched in an hourglass,” Tammy Stables Battaglia writes in the Detroit Free Press. The hourglass metaphor is apt. You can see it in action here: