“Ice Ice Baby”

In light of the recent stretch of below average temperatures, I thought it might be of interest to share some facts about ice on the Great Lakes. The NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, or GLERL, has been studying ice coverage on the Great Lakes for over 30 years. Their data help us to understand ice’s role in water level changes, water temperature, and even plankton blooms in Lake Erie. Why should we care so much about ice? Read on to find out more about ice and its impacts.

Ice Generation

Lake Erie’s long term average ice concentration compared to current (2017-2018 winter) ice production.

During winter months, lakes lose energy to the atmosphere as the water near the surface cools. The cold, dense water sinks to the bottom of the lake while warmer water rises, and this cycle continues until the surface water reaches 32 degrees. Freezing begins and then extends down into the lake as the ice thickens. On average, it takes until early February for Lake Erie to achieve over 60% ice coverage. The recent stretch of cold temperatures across the Great Lakes has made for some record-breaking ice generation – Lake Erie went from 1.5% coverage on December 24 to over 85% coverage on January 8. For comparison, last year in early January, Lake Erie had only 7.6% ice coverage.

Ice and Lake Effect Snow

More ice on Lake Erie generally means less lake effect snow. When Lake Erie freezes over, less water is readily available to be drawn up from the lake to the air above. The ice acts like a cap, preventing moisture from evaporating and/or condensing and therefore creating lake effect snow. While those in the “snow belt” may appreciate the decrease in snowfall once Lake Erie starts freezing over, this usually comes at a price – colder weather!

Ice and Lake Levels

Increased ice coverage means more protection from evaporation in the winter and theoretically higher water levels – but the connection between ice coverage and water levels is not that simple. While the amount of available open water in the winter for evaporation plays a role, data have shown that evaporation peaks in the fall, before ice cover forms. In extreme ice cover years, the thermal structure of the lake could be impacted for the rest of the year, potentially leading to less evaporation from the lakes (and possibly higher water levels) in the following fall. It is important to note that evaporation and precipitation are the major drivers of seasonal water level changes in the Great Lakes. A winter of low evaporation due to ice cover could be negated by a dry spring with little rainfall.

Ice and Harmful Algal Blooms

Harmful algal blooms typically require a water temperature of at least 60 degrees to bloom. The percentage of ice coverage does play a part in water temperatures later in the year – the spring temperatures will have to melt the ice first before the water below the ice is able to warm up. In a year with a greater extent of ice cover, it will take longer for the lake to warm up to 60 degrees, and this could lead to a shorter harmful algal bloom season. However, factors such as nutrient runoff and spring/summer weather patterns can impact the extent of harmful algal blooms as well.

Want to learn more about ice? Check out NOAA GLERL’s Coastwatch program – with real-time observation of ice on the Great Lakes.

Ice coverage across the Great Lakes. Lake Erie has the largest coverage with over 85% as of January 8, 2018.

Resources:

NOAA GLERL Great Lakes Ice Cover page: https://www.glerl.noaa.gov/data/ice/#overview

National Weather Service Great Lakes Ice Analysis: https://www.weather.gov/cle/GreatLakesIce_Analysis

Great Lakes Coastal Forecasting System Annual Ice Cover Comparison: https://www.glerl.noaa.gov//res/glcfs/compare_years/

Sarah Orlando is the Ohio Clean Marinas Program Manager, Ohio Sea Grant College Program. You can contact her at: 419-609-4120, orlando.42@osu.edu, @SarahAOrlando.

What the HACCP?

The title says it all. Most people probably haven’t heard of the HACCP process before, and those that have are likely familiar with it in the food service industry. HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, and it was developed in the 1960’s as a way to prevent astronauts from being exposed to food borne illness. The process was since adopted by the FDA thanks to its effectiveness in preventing the spread of disease via processing and packaging of food.

So why is this Sea Grant fish guy talking about astronaut food?

In a dramatic turn of events, folks from the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network adopted this process years ago and used it to prevent the spread of invasive species and diseases and ensure quality control in the Great Lakes seafood and bait fish industries. Other thoughtful Sea Grant and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service employees morphed the process even more to address the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) in natural resource management activities. (If you’re not familiar with AIS, check out my previous CD blog on Alien Invaders.)

Invasive goldfish in a Lake Erie wetland- How many potential vectors of spreading AIS do you see in this picture?
(Some answers: boat, buckets, waders, net, coat)

As it turns out, this process is pretty successful in preventing the spread of AIS. So much so that there are a number of folks across the country that are certified to train natural resource managers on using the HACCP process in their work. That list includes my colleagues Jenny Roar and Eugene Braig, who along with myself will be hosting an AIS-HACCP workshop at Stone Laboratory August 28-29, 2017.

If your work finds you in the field, then you are a potential vector for spreading AIS, and you should strongly consider taking this workshop. If you know a natural resource professional, please forward along the information so they can help us protect our natural resources from the scourge of invasive species. Even if you’re not a professional in the field but enjoy outdoor recreation, remember to always take steps to prevent the spread of invasive species!

  • Learn to recognize AIS and report new sightings to the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
  • Stop Aquatic Hitchhikers!Clean, Drain, Dry! When using boats or other aquatic recreational equipment, before leaving the water access: inspect and remove foreign material, drain water from all containers (bilge, livewell, etc.), clean with high pressure and/or heated water, and allow to dry for at least five days before transporting between bodies of water. Learn more at stopaquatichitchhikers.org/.
  • Dispose of unwanted bait, worms and fish parts in the trash.
  • HabitatitudeGet Habitattitude! Never dump aquarium pets, plants, other organisms, or water, including bait, from one water body into another. Learn more at www.habitattitude.net/.

For more information on AIS-HACCP, or AIS in the Great Lakes, contact me at gabriel.78@osu.edu.

Credits:

Title stolen from the creative brain of Sarah Orlando.

Photos and captions from USF&WS AIS HACCP Manual

Tory Gabriel is an Extension Specialist, Program Manager for the Ohio Sea Grant College Program.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

non-target species

What are we going to do to stop this fish?

In last week’s Community Development blog, which you can read here: u.osu.edu/extensioncd/2017/01/19/alien-invaders/, my colleague Tory Gabriel explained the threat of aquatic invasive species (AIS), also known as aquatic nuisance species (ANS).

Bighead carp

Bighead carp

The timing of his blog worked out well for me, because in this week’s blog I am going to tell you about a study Frank Lichtkoppler and I did that was published last month in the Journal of Extension on the topic of probably the most frightening alien fish we have in the United States right now: the Asian Carp. Check out the article here: joe.org/joe/2016december/a5.php.

The Asian Carp is actually four different species of fish: the black carp, grass carp, silver carp, and bighead carp. It has gained a stronghold in large portions of the Mississippi River basin in recent decades. It out-competes native fish species for habitat and food, and its population has skyrocketed as it has no local predators. It represents such an enormous threat to the fisheries of the Great Lakes that the US Army Corps of Engineers has been investigating the closure of the Chicago Area Waterway System (CAWS), the most likely route the Asian Carp could take to the Great Lakes. This system is incredibly important to shipping in the United States.

Let’s say you want to ship something from Cleveland, Detroit or a similar starting point down to Memphis or New Orleans. You must leave the Great Lakes basin and enter into the Mississippi River basin to do that. And of course the same thing goes for cargo coming the other way. Before railroads, canals linking various watersheds like this played an enormous role in contributing to the national economic integration of the United States. This was key in facilitating the economic development of our then young country. Today some of the canals are partially preserved as historical attractions. But the CAWS is different. It still plays a major role in shipping as it is the only waterway linking the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River basin. Estimates of the engineering costs of closing the CAWS and re-routing storm and sanitary sewers, combined with the economic losses that will result from losing it as a transportation corridor, are in the multiple billions of dollars.

So any consideration of the closure of this waterway system, which is also an important visitation attraction that I recommend you see when in Chicago, illustrates just how serious a threat the Asian Carp is. I chose the title to this current blog post partly in deference to a 2014 article from The Verge which underscores the urgency of the problem. The article is called, “America Must Kill This Fish.” I suggest that you take the time to read it here: theverge.com/2014/3/21/5533054/asian-carp-american-waterways.

Two years before that article appeared in The Verge, back in 2012, the US Army Corps of Engineers funded a set of public opinion surveys regarding closure of the CAWS. Because of OSU Extension Sea Grant’s experience in surveying Great Lakes charter captains on a host of issues and topics, the Corps selected our organization to undertake the survey for this key stakeholder group. Charter captains have a lot at stake here because, if the Asian Carp succeeds in reaching the Great Lakes, it will do heavy damage to the fisheries there. Recreational fishermen who hire charter captains are eager to catch walleye, trout, and yellow perch, but those species will be greatly reduced or even destroyed by the presence of Asian Carp. It is not an exaggeration to say that the Asian Carp could cause the worst ecological catastrophe in the history of the Great Lakes.

Our survey revealed that about 95% of charter captains favor closing the CAWS, and that the average captain is willing to pay about $95 a year to contribute to the cost of the closure. Our findings also show that charter captains who are making plans to expand their businesses are willing to pay more for closure, and the increase in willingness to pay is proportional to the magnitude of the expansions they are planning. About 17% of captains said they need more information in order to form a valid measure of their willingness to pay. And of course, the Extension Sea Grant network is currently conducting extensive outreach education to try to close this information gap.

It is not clear what the future is going to be as the country faces the challenge of protecting the Great Lakes from the Asian Carp. Our study plays a modest role in assessing the environmental economic opinions of one key stakeholder group, Great Lakes charter captains. Our contributions may be in the form of leading to surveys of the broader public – including boaters, shoreline anglers and even the American population in general. This would be appropriate since, in the final analysis the Asian Carp really is a national problem and the closure of the CAWS, if it comes, will eventually rely on general taxpayer funding of some type. Another contribution we have made is to the scholarly literature on the methodology of assessing public opinion, which will potentially have implications for how researchers measure opinions on all types of environmental economic topics ranging from global climate change to recycling to preservation of endangered species.

In the meantime, a number of measures have been taken to prevent the Asian Carp from crossing into the CAWS. One is an apparatus that sends a series of electrical shocks through the water as it approaches the CAWS. The level of electric shock intensifies with proximity to the waterway. For now, it seems to be effective. This brings up another point. Critics of the closure of the CAWS have been vocal in pointing out that basin separation, as attractive as it may seem to its proponents, is not a fool proof method of preventing the spread of the Asian Carp to the Great Lakes. And so the question remains: what are we going to do to stop this fish?

Tom Blaine is an Associate Professor with OSU Extension, Community Development.

Spring Cleaning Tips for Boaters (and everyone else)

Clean Marinas 2015-12-10

Photo credit: Ohio Sea Grant

Spring is here and it is time for cleaning! When it comes to cleaning, the best practices for boaters are also easily transferable to our lives at home, at work, and in the community. Now is the time of year I send reminders to our marina and boating community about these best practices for keeping our waterways clean. Below are a few of my favorites that I take with me wherever I go.

Cleaning:

  • Use non-toxic, phosphate-free, and biodegradable cleaning products. You’d be surprised how well baking soda and vinegar work on tough stains! Find our list of alternatives to toxic cleaning products here.
  • Become knowledgeable about disposal procedures for waste and hazardous materials at work and in your community.

Maintenance:

  • Clean up all trash, dust, and debris immediately following any maintenance or repair activity. Dispose in your regular trash at home or in designated receptacles at your local solid waste management facility.
  • Use a drop cloth to catch dust and debris when working over unpaved surfaces. Sweep up debris on paved surfaces when finished.

Marine Debris:

  • Make sure trash cans have lids and are emptied regularly.
  • Recycle cans, glass, newspaper, and other products, and ultimately try to reduce trash by switching to reusable items.
  • Do you know where your nearest storm drain is located? Make sure that it is cleaned regularly and only rain goes down the storm drain.

You can learn more about these and other tips for protecting our waterways through our Clean Boater Tip Sheets, available through the Great Lakes Clean Marina Network, online at the Ohio Clean Marinas Program website and on Facebook.

Happy cleaning!!

Contact: Sarah Orlando, Ohio Clean Marinas Program, (419) 609-4120, orlando.42@osu.edu.

(Submitted by Sarah Orlando, Program Manager, Ohio Clean Marinas Program, Ohio Sea Grant)