Convergence

A warm, overcast day on the Lake Michigan Shore resulted in some ice mounds beginning to break up. As we made it to the shore, the sand dunes rolled into the distant ice mounds on the lake; they matched each other's shape perfectly. Then further out, a horizontal band of water matched the horizontal bands of clouds in the sky - a convergence of shapes. 

This year's shelf ice mounds have built up to a good height and reach quite far into the lake (although I've seen the mounds stretch hundreds and hundreds of feet further). The warmer weather at the beginning of the year, the brutal cold spells with warmer weather in between have created some interest in the ice. One day the ice covers the lake as far as one can see, the next day, the wind changes direction and pushes the floe ice away from the shore. 

As usual, something new to see every time I visit. Today's visit, while cloudy, made for a very dramatic sky in the background, with muted elements in the midground, and deep warmth in the foreground. A trifecta in a way. Of course, things changed even as we left the park a few hours later.

Ice Along the Shore

 

Looking beyond the shelf ice on a clear day, one could see the Chicago skyline in the distance. Some 38 miles across the lake, if you look closely, you'll notice the bottom of the buildings are missing, this is due to the curvature of the earth - sorry flat-earthers. I you were to climb the dunes directly behind, more of the buildings would be visible due to the higher vantage point. The waves are pounding the outer ends of the shelf ice, splashing high up onto the ice mounds. This process is both tearing down the ice, and building it up. Loose pieces will break off from the wave action, but those chunks will be tossed up onto the ice mounds and frozen back into place in the cold temperatures.

If you look at the shelf ice from a distance, you can see the progression of how the ice was formed. Where there are mounds, the day was cold, windy, and the lake was wavey. This type of environment lifts and throws the ice chunks onto the edge of the ice where it grows taller, and wider. When the winds die down, floe ice will bump into the mounds and freeze in place forming flat areas of the shelf ice. When the waves begin again, ice mounds form ont he edges of the flat areas, making more and more tall mounds. At times, these ice formations can extend hundreds of feet into Lake Michigan. Floe ice will then get pushed into the shelf ice by gentle winds, and this ice can extend as far as the eye can see, making the lake appear to be frozen solid - but it's not.

   

 No matter the weather, creeks and streams continue to flow into Lake Michigan. At this time, Kintzele Ditch was not frozen, and you could watch it flow up to and then under the shelf ice. Even when the ditch is frozen, it's still flowing into the lake. I've been to this area in extremely cold weather, and if you listen, you can hear the water flowing under the ice, and sometimes see a cave-like area the flowing water carved through the ice.

The lakeshore changes quickly, often in a day or less, and in winter, the ice does the same. Every visit in winter, brings something brand new.