U.S. Coast Guard
Icebreaking
Icebreaking begins on Lake Superior, St. Marys River
Operation Taconite has begun.
That’s what the U.S. Coast Guard calls its annual icebreaking on Lake Superior, the St. Marys River, the Straits of Mackinac and Lake Michigan. The operation officially commenced on Monday.
According to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard:
The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alder, homeported in Duluth, Minnesota, was directed to manage the ice-breaking needs of western Lake Superior. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Biscayne Bay, homeported in St. Ignace, Michigan, was dispatched to break ice in the St Marys River. As ice growth continues on the Great Lakes in the coming days and weeks, additional Coast Guard icebreakers will join the operation.
Currently there are no channel closures; however, the implementation of Operation Taconite does place additional measures on commercial shipping in the Western Lakes, St. Marys River, and the Straits of Mackinac. These measures include restricting tanker transits to daylight only in the presence of ice, reducing speeds by two miles per hour in various locations, and requiring additional voice and position reporting points throughout the area.
So far this winter, very little of Lake Superior has ice – less than 2 percent at the time of this writing – which isn’t uncommon for this time of year. But the St. Marys River, which connects Lake Superior to the lower Great Lakes, already has a fair amount.
+ Last week, the Alder visited the Keweenaw Waterway (pictured above) to break ice and conduct on-ice rescue training.
Take care of your Lake neighbor
Most plastic pollution enters the Great Lakes from the usual suspects: the cities. On Lake Superior, that’s places like Duluth and Thunder Bay. But where does the plastic end up?
That was the question posed by researchers at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Their new study, published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin, found that winds and currents push much of the Lake Superior debris (everything from large litter to microplastic particles) to the southern shore and to Isle Royale, far from where it was generated.
John Myers has more on the findings in the Duluth News Tribune. The graphic is quite striking. It’s a reminder that not only is keeping pollutants out of the Lake the right thing to do, it’s the neighborly thing, too.
Blue Heron returns home
The University of Minnesota Duluth’s Large Lakes Observatory research vessel Blue Heron finally made it back to Duluth after a three-day trip across Lake Superior turned into a 12-day ordeal.
In November, the Blue Heron went to the shipyard in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, for end-of-the-season work. The return journey turned into a slog thanks to a snowstorm, bitter cold and dangerous conditions on the Big Lake.
We posted an update on Monday, when the ship was just leaving Munising, Michigan. It reached Duluth on Thursday morning. Jay Hanson of North Shore Scenic Cruises helped out on the trip; he called finally sailing under the Aerial Lift Bridge yesterday “the best feeling ever.”
Videos: Mesmerizing Lake Superior sea smoke, by Levi Drevlow in Duluth and Travis Novitsky in Grand Portage, Minnesota. (Levi’s video even got picked up by the Daily Mail in London.)
Otters on the ice: Paul Sundberg starts his weekly photo essay with sea smoke before introducing us to an otter family in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
Wawa receives $100,000 for new goose statue: The community has been raising funds to replace its iconic but aging Wawa Goose, and now the federal government has chipped in through the Canada 150 Community Infrastructure Program, SooToday reports.
Paddlers with Lake Superior ties prepare for Great Lakes journey: Joe Zellner and Peggy Gabrielson will paddle all five Great Lakes in a single calendar year to benefit pediatric brain cancer research. Read more about their stories.
Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center completes first phase of energy project: “The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest has completed phase one of a $2 million contract creating a more sustainable, economical and responsible Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center,” reports the Bayfield County Journal.
Historic fishing tug returns home: The Crusader II is being adopted by a group in Knife River, Minnesota, where the boat was built in 1939, reports Samantha Erkkila for the Duluth News Tribune.