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 …
lake ice
(Cold) Blast from the Past: According to Science, We’re Losing Something Magical.
(This article was originally published January 22, 2018 and has been updated with photos from January 2022) by Adam Hinterthuer – Two weeks ago, I walked down the hill from my house to do something …
Lake Mendota’s Spring Thaw Ties for 2nd Earliest on Record
Yesterday morning I brought breakfast to my daughters at our dining room table, glanced out the window and did a double take. The waters of Lake Monona were a churning mass of brownish bluish green. …
Blog Redux: What Less Lake Ice Means for Ecology, Economy and Ourselves
NOTE: This post originally ran on January 17, 2012. In the four of the five years since this post, Lake Mendota has frozen over well after its “median” freeze date, and in three of the …
What Two Frozen Lakes Taught Me About Perception Versus Data
by Samantha Oliver Today, I woke up at my favorite place on earth – Ten Mile Lake, in Hackensack, Minnesota. On the coldest day of the winter thus far, the frozen lake is so bright, …
Science on Ice at the Frozen Assets Festival
We here at the Center for Limnology are dedicated to outreach. The more everyone knows about our lakes, the better off we’ll all be. That’s why we love events like the Clean Lakes Alliance’s Frozen …
Researchers Get to the Bottom (& Beyond) of Lake Mendota Invasive Species
It looks like ice-off is only a couple days away on Madison’s lakes. Before we hit the completely open water season, though, here’s a look back at some semi-frozen fieldwork from early March. Graduate student, Jake …
Top 3 Posts From 2014: Ice, More Ice, and Murky Water
Happy New Year’s Eve! We here at the Center for Limnology wish you a 2015 filled with opportunities to get out on your favorite lake, river, stream or wetland. As a final post of the …
When Will Lake Mendota Freeze?
Last week, John Magnuson, director emeritus of the Center for Limnology, spoke at our weekly Wednesday seminar about lake ice trends in our warming world. In short, the onset and duration of lake ice cover …
Thickest Lake Ice in Decades May Last Into Spring
Ted Bier, our senior research specialist for the Long-Term Ecological Research program, was recently photographed on Lake Monona holding this massive chunk of ice in front of the Madison skyline. That picture led to the …