Foote Dam

oscoda_area_0305, originally uploaded by kartfamily.

 

Drift at Sunrise

Drift at Sunrise, originally uploaded by CaptPiper.

Au Sable in Winter

Au Sable #040, originally uploaded by joelmaust.

The river in black and white. Cool!

National Ice Center

Nancy and Bill passed me a link to the National Ice Center website. It took a bit of wandering around to find Great Lakes material (looks like they are just assembling the site). I found a couple of interesting things to pass on. They are all jpg images:

• Click here to view the current map of icecover on Lakes Michigan and Superior.
• Click here for Lakes Huron, Erie, and Ontario. Note that Lake Erie (the shallowest of the Great Lakes and usually the first to get a decent ice cover, even though it’s the Great Lake that is farthest south) is pretty well ice covered. That will cut down on any lake-effect snow downwind from the lake. Lake Ontario is still pretty much ice free, and the snow dump east of the lake continues (122″ of snow in less than 6 days)!
• Click here for the historical ice cover map from 2/19/1979 when the Great Lakes had a nearly solid ice cover.

New Ausable Resort in January

.closed for the season., originally uploaded by ŧĒđĠūŸ®.

Looks colorful but cold.

Fish-killing virus (VHS) confirmed in Lake Huron

Bad news for Lake Huron:

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources said it confirmed the presence of viral hemorrhagic septicema, or VHS, in fish taken from Thunder Bay and from waters off Rogers City and Cheboygan.

Previously, VHS had been found only in two of the Great Lakes — Ontario and Erie — and in Lake St. Clair. But officials have predicted the virus eventually would spread across the entire lake system.

For those not familiar with Michigan, Thunder Bay and Rogers City are quite north and within an hours drive of the Straits of Mackinaw and Lake Michigan.

Great Lakes Water Level Update for February 2007

This past month the water supply to the Lake Superior basin was well below its long-term average for January, while the supply to the Lakes Michigan-Huron basin was above its January average.

The levels of Lake Superior and Lakes Michigan-Huron remain below their chart datum levels.

The level of Lake Superior is expected to continue to decline during the next couple of months, while that of Lakes Michigan-Huron is expected to remain about the same.

Currently, the Lake Superior level is about 45 cm (18 inches) below its long-term average beginning-of-February level, and is 35 cm (14 inches) below the level recorded a year ago.

This past month the level of Lake Superior fell by about 10 cm (4 inches), while on average it falls by seven cm (3 inches) in January.

The last time Lake Superior was lower at this time of year was in February 1926.

The level of Lakes Michigan-Huron fell by one cm (1/2 inch) this January, while on average the level of these lakes decline by about three cm (one inch) in January.

The level of Lakes Michigan-Huron is now about 33 cm (13 inches) below its long-term average beginning-of-February level, but is six cm (two inches) higher than a year ago.

Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Technorati Tags: great lakes

5 Things to Know About Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS)

Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia at a glance:

What is it?

Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) is a fish disease that may cause bulging eyes, bloated abdomens, inactive or overactive behavior and hemorrhaging in the eyes, skin, gills, and at the base of the fins. It also attacks the internal organs of fish, leaving them bloody looking. Fish mortality is highest in low water temperatures between 37-54 degrees Fahrenheit.

The virus poses no threat to humans.

What species are affected?

VHS has been found in 37 species, including muskellunge, smallmouth bass, northern pike, freshwater drum (sheephead), gizzard shad, yellow perch, black crappie, bluegill, rock bass, white bass, redhorse sucker, bluntnose sucker, round goby and walleye. It has not been confirmed in salmonids in the Great Lakes, but has been known to infect those species.

Where is VHS found?

VHS was observed as early as 2005 in freshwater drum in Lake Ontario and in muskellunge in Lake St. Clair. In 2006, VHS was blamed for fish die-offs in muskellunge in Lake St. Clair, freshwater drum and yellow perch in Lake Erie, and round gobies in Lake Ontario.

As of January 2007, waters known to be infected with the virus include Lake St. Clair, Lake Erie, the Niagara River, Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River. Or maybe more — see update here: VHS in the Great Lakes longer than originally thought

How is VHS spread?

Fisheries managers don’t know for sure how VHS has spread. They’re guessing the virus moved to the Great Lakes from the Maritime Provinces via ballast water from ocean-going ships in 2002. Biologists believe the virus can move between fish populations, making them worry all of the Great Lakes could eventually have a VHS presence.

If the virus can spread by infected fish, it could be seen in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan in two to four years.

What can be done to stop VHS?

In the short term, boaters and anglers can disinfect their equipment with a bleach cleaning solution. Managers are urging anglers not to move fish from known infected waters to uninfected waters. They also ask anglers to leave all bait and livewell water in the lake from which it was taken.

Source: Ludington Daily News