Subnivium is a word you’ve probably never heard of, but it refers to a vast ecosystem across much of the world. Specifically, the small pocket of open space that develops each winter between the surface of the ground and the blanket of snow that covers it. That small space is critically important to all sorts …
by Adam Rexroade For Madison residents, the summer of 2018 was a summer of heavy rain, ongoing flooding and inaccessible lakes. Pictures of kayakers floating down flooded streets and sandbags holding back floodwaters littered newspapers all summer long. These dramatic photos earned those front cover pages—Madison received almost 20 inches of rain from June through August. Much …
Hornyhead chub, Fishes of Wisconsin poster. Photo: A. Hinterthuer Happy Valentine’s Day! Considering we’re still talking about a certain wall two years after we first published this, we thought it was time to reshare the tale of a fish that builds walls – for love! (originally posted Jan. 27, 2017) — Maybe it’s too soon …
by Eric Hamilton, University Communications – For 166 years, observers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the Wisconsin State Climatology Office have recorded a central aspect of life in the city — the dates when Lake Mendota freezes and thaws. Those dates mark the transition from fishing to ice fishing, from canoeing to snow shoeing. …
The above picture shows CFL assistant professor Hilary Dugan and a giant pile of rock salt. It is so much salt. How much? Well, this particular pile belongs to the Jefferson County Highway Department and it’s not uncommon for them to dump literal tons of salt onto county roads and Interstate 94 during an extended …
MADISON – In many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, frozen lakes define the winter experience and create an indelible sense of place. From ice fishing and hockey to skating, skiing and snowmobiling, icy lakes enable communities to engage in activities that aren’t possible in warmer seasons or climates. But these iconic cold-weather past-times could become …
If you aren’t following our friends at The Fisheries Blog, you should be. They post all kinds of fascinating science on the fishes of the world – like this recent post from our former post doc, Solomon David. Enjoy! By Solomon David – (originally posted at The Fisheries Blog, January 21, 2019) Although dogs and …
As the government shutdown drags on with no end in sight, we’d planned to write about how it’s impacting the freshwater sciences as researchers are sidelined at the National Science Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey and other agencies. But the La Crosse Tribune beat us to it. Here’s an excellent article …
Right now, Lake Mendota is mostly frozen over – its only open water way out in the middle of the lake where winds are keeping the surface too riled up to freeze. But, yesterday morning around 9:00 am, Lake Mendota was still mostly in its liquid form despite temperatures in the teens. A gentle, but …
EDITOR’S NOTE, DECEMBER 12, 2022: This article originally ran January 4, 2019. Here in December 2022, Lake Mendota is NOT yet frozen, but with some very cold days in the 10-day forecast, it seemed like a good time to dust it off! On the morning of Wednesday, December 19th, 2019, I got off the bus …