Historical Ice Breakup Dates for Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior (ver. 5.0, September 2022)
Dates
Publication Date
2018-06-08
Start Date
1911
End Date
2022
Last Revision
2022-09-23
Citation
Evrard, L.M., 2018, Historical Ice Breakup Dates for Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior (ver. 5.0, September 2022): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/F7HT2NNP.
Summary
Ice breakup dates of Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior from 1911 to 2022 were compiled by Lori Evrard (USGS, GLSC, Lake Superior Biological Station, Ashland, WI). Ice breakup date is the day in spring when winter ice cover substantially leaves a water body. Local residents deem "ice breakup" as when the ice moves northeast of a line straight across Chequamegon Bay out from Ellis Avenue (State highway 13). Another way ice breakup was determined has been if you could drive a boat from the outlet of Fish Creek to Houghton Point. The ice may move back and forth over that line but the ice is breaking up, moving and melting from that date on. Ellis Avenue ends on a bluff (46.5925 degrees North, 90.8827 degrees West) that provides a clear view [...]
Summary
Ice breakup dates of Chequamegon Bay, Lake Superior from 1911 to 2022 were compiled by Lori Evrard (USGS, GLSC, Lake Superior Biological Station, Ashland, WI). Ice breakup date is the day in spring when winter ice cover substantially leaves a water body. Local residents deem "ice breakup" as when the ice moves northeast of a line straight across Chequamegon Bay out from Ellis Avenue (State highway 13). Another way ice breakup was determined has been if you could drive a boat from the outlet of Fish Creek to Houghton Point. The ice may move back and forth over that line but the ice is breaking up, moving and melting from that date on. Ellis Avenue ends on a bluff (46.5925 degrees North, 90.8827 degrees West) that provides a clear view of Chequamegon Bay from Fish Creek to Houghton Point. Mrs. C. J. Hoskings recorded the dates from 1911 to 1980. Mr. LeRoy C. Margenau recorded the dates from 1981 to 1991. The Ashland Marina recorded the dates from 1992-1999 and 2001. Lori Evrard (USGS) recorded dates after 1999 except 2001. USGS converted each date to a consecutive day of the year value. The date of ice breakup will be updated annually to append that year's date.
Click on title to download individual files attached to this item.
Cheq_Bay_Ice_Breakup_1911_2022_USGS.csv “Data file described in the XML metadata”
1.97 KB
text/csv
Cheq_Bay_Ice_Breakup_graph_trendline_1911_2022.jpg “A graph showing date points, an average date line, and a negative trendline.”
444.96 KB
image/jpeg
Cheq_Bay_Ice_Breakup_Map.jpg “A map indicating where ice has to reach to be considered the ice breakup date.”
416.12 KB
image/jpeg
Cheq_Bay_Ice_Breakup_revision_history_20220920.txt “Descriptions of each data release version”
2.1 KB
text/plain
Cheq_Bay_Ice_Breakup_v5.0_metadata_20220920.xml “Descriptions of each data release version.” Original FGDC Metadata
View
16.01 KB
application/fgdc+xml
Purpose
Data was collected by townspeople from 1911 to 1999 and 2001 and was provided to the USGS station in Ashland, WI. USGS continued monitoring the ice condition and recorded the date of ice breakup to present. USGS converted each date to a consecutive day of the year value. Ice breakup dates can be important data for climate research.
Preview Image
A map indicating where ice has to reach to be considered the ice breakup date.
Revision 4.0 by Sofia Dabrowski on September 23, 2022. To review the changes that were made, see “Cheq_Bay_Ice_Breakup_revision_history_20220920.txt” in the attached files section.