Thawing Ice on Lake Michigan
March 09, 2013
Photographer: Neil Libby
Summary Author: Neil Libby
The photo above shows the remnant of an ice ledge on Lake Michigan (near Winnetka, Illinois), that disintegrated in late January 2013 during a thaw in the cold weather. Ice ledges or shelves such as this are built up during successive winter storms when strong winds and large waves deposit an icy slush onto newly formed shore ice. Ice piled up here along Lake Michigan's southwestern shore to about 8 ft (2.4 m) in height. Its sullied appearance reminded me of the dirty ice observed in the ablation zone of valley glaciers. Through the mist and fog a mansion can be seen perched atop Highland Park moraine. This moraine was deposited during the last ice age by the retreating glaciers that formed Lake Micigan. Photo taken on January 29, 2013.
Photo details: Camera Maker: NIKON; Camera Model: COOLPIX P100; Focal Length: 11.8mm (35mm equivalent: 66mm); Aperture: f/5.0; Exposure Time: 0.0045 s (1/220); ISO equiv: 200; Software: COOLPIX P100V1.0.