For today's report we contacted observation posts across the top of the continent and asked about ice. When do you suppose the ice melts from Hudson Bay, up in caribou country? What about along the coast of Alaska, where our gray whales are heading? Check your map and see if you can find each of the sites listed below. When do you think ice-out would occur in each place?
BODY OF WATER..................OBSERVATION POST
Hudson Bay.............................Arviat, Northwest Territories
Chucki Sea..............................Point Hope, Alaska
Kachemak Bay (Cook Inlet)......Homer, Alaska
From Point Hope, Alaska:
April 22
Ice-out on the Chukchi Sea is usually around the first of June to
mid-June. By the end of June there is usually no ice at all. As
the weather warms, wind and ocean currents push the pack ice away
from the shore ice. (Shore ice is frozen from the top to the bottom
where it rests on the sea floor.) When they separate open water
called leads develop. In the open water bowhead and beluga whales
can be seen migrating through to their summer feeding grounds in the
high arctic. There is now a substantial lead only a couple miles
off the beach and open water south of here, break up will happen
fairly quickly. As it does, we will see the return of thousands of
ducks and geese, walrus and other whales like Greys, and Orcas whose
dorsal fins prevent them from coming through when there is still a
possibility of floating ice. For now, we wait.
Last Sunday (April 14), John Oktolik's whaling crew landed the first whale of the season for our village. Though it meant a great deal of work, it was a joyous occasion for the village. This event has been repeated many times here, in much the same way for thousands of years. And like their ancestors, the people of Point Hope will make use of almost everything on the whale--the bone, meat, organs, muktuk, and baleen.
My husband and I took our snow machine out to Oktolik's whaling camp to see the whale and offer our help in pulling it out of the water and on to the ice where it could be butchered. It felt good to be allowed to participate in this important event in some small way and to see open water again!
It varies from year to year of course, but in the fall the Chukchi
Sea generally doesn't begin freezing up until October. When it
starts to freeze, it turns into a sort of a milk shake consistency.
Waves come in slow motion. Every year, when the sea is finally
still, I can barely stand it. It's so unnatural to me that it seems
sinister--like trees with arms or something. I'm always glad to see
the open water again.
Sheila Gaquin, Point Hope, Alaska
sgaquin@arctic.nsbsd.k12.ak.us
From Arviat, Northwest Territories:
Caribou biologist Robert Mulders reports from Hudson Bay: "The sea
ice hasn't left Hudson Bay and it will probably be a while yet
before it does. Usually the ice doesn't leave the Arviat area until
the end of June or early July. Since the sea ice generally starts
forming again in November, we typically only have an ice-free period
of about 4months.
From Homer, Alaska:
Cook Inlet does not freeze over in the winter. The last time our
Kachemak Bay froze over was in 1947. Our first robin arrived on
Thursday, April 25. We watch for the arrival of the varied thrush.
It arrived only a week earlier but usually come much earlier than
robins.
Anna and Renae, Homer Intermediate School Orca
orca@alaska.net
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You may have logged on to our ice-out contest this spring but these Wisconsin students created an entirely new way to log on:
"We held a contest which involved an opportunity to guess when a log placed
on the frozen surface of Lake Wissota would fall through the ice. A prize
was awarded to the winner. We feel that this was a good way to get our
fellow classmates involved with our ice-out project."
Graham Sazama, Lindsay Todahl, Chris Spath, and Cody Spaeth
Stillson School
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
imcstils@cesa10.k12.wi.us
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Thanks to students in Alaska and Pennsylvania for their answers to Challenge Question # 50: "Which animal migrations might be affected by ice-out? Why do you think so?"
From: PENNSYLVANIA:
Hi! I'm Emily Wykoff From Lock Haven Junior High School.
I've been thinking about this question for a while. Right
off the top of your head, it's tough to think of animals who migrate
because of ice-out, but with a little research and thinking, it wasn't
that hard! Here's what I came up with:
Fish migrate because of cooler temperatures at the surface of the water.
Penguins might migrate to a place where there are gaps in the ice so
that they can go fishing for their food.
Whales might migrate to warmer water for food and to give birth to their
young.
Seals might also migrate for the same reasons.
Many marine animals might migrate to a place where the water is warmer,
and come back when the ice-out is well on its way.
Keystone Central School District
nheilman@oak.kcsd.k12.pa.us
From ALASKA:
The following animals will be affected by the ice out:
1. Loons, because they nest on the water and they get their food
from the lake in which they nest. Also because if the ice doesn't go
out in time, the loon migration will be held up. If the ice doesn't
go out, the loons don't have anywhere to stay.
2. Peregrine Falcons, because they get their food from the lakes and the rivers.
3. Loggerhead Sea Turtle, because they live in the water and get their food from the water.
Sand Lake Elementary (sterling@corcomsv.corcom.com)
ICE-OUT REPORTS
From WISCONSIN:
April 25
Ice was covering Lake Wissota until the afternoon on Thursday, April
25. Later that day the ice was 100% gone. Lake Wissota is a man-made
lake and there are still barns and silos deep beneath the water
surface. The Native Americans have started spearfishing on our Lake.
Thanks to all of you who sent responses to the challenge questions
we sent out. We really appreciate it. The questions you answered really
helped us out.
Graham Sazama, Lindsay Todahl, Chris Spath, and Cody Spaeth
Stillson School
Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin
imcstils@cesa10.k12.wi.us
From MINNESOTA:
April 16
The ice has finally melted on Eagle Pond, our adopted body of water.
Ice out occurred on April 16, 1996. Eagle Pond is in the northern
part of Apple Valley, and Apple Valley is located about twenty miles
south of Minneapolis, in Minnesota.
Mr. Sheridan's Third Grade Class
Greenleaf Elementary School
0196gel@InforMNs.k12.MN.US
From MINNESOTA:
April 28
Ice-out occurred on Bass Lake near Grey Eagle, Minnesota on 4/28/96.
Mrs. Elleson & Fourth Grade Students
Grey Eagle Elementary
Grey Eagle, MN
0791geel@InforMNs. k12.MN.US
From MINNESOTA:
April 22
Lake Minnetonka, and in particular Halsted Bay, iced-out completely
about 3:30 in the afternoon on April 22nd. Mound, MN (near
Minneapolis).
April 21
Lake Harriet in Minneapolis, MN iced-out April 21st.
Laura Heeter, Liam O'Hagan, Alex Nichols
Mr. Kust, Grade 4
Breck School, Minneapolis, MN
dakus@breck.pvt.k12.mn.us
The Next Ice-Out Report Will be Posted on May 17, 1996.
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