WEBVTT 00:00.340 --> 00:02.507 The winter months in the Northeast are 00:02.507 --> 00:04.599 often frigid . The prolonged cold 00:04.599 --> 00:06.989 temperatures lead to ice development . 00:07.360 --> 00:09.527 While ice can be dangerous while going 00:09.527 --> 00:11.249 about our day to day life , it 00:11.249 --> 00:13.304 generally is beneficial on the Great 00:13.304 --> 00:15.304 Lakes . People like to skate , play 00:15.304 --> 00:18.559 hockey , uh , uh , ice fish , um . 00:19.399 --> 00:22.549 There can also be a benefit in terms of 00:22.760 --> 00:24.871 uh reduced erosion . Water levels are 00:24.871 --> 00:27.093 down and the ice is in . We , we have a 00:27.093 --> 00:29.316 pretty easy year out there . If we have 00:29.316 --> 00:31.482 a high water level year , if we have a 00:31.482 --> 00:33.593 lot of ice or no ice , then we see it 00:33.593 --> 00:35.593 on the beaches as heavier erosion . 00:35.593 --> 00:37.593 Knowing how important ice can be in 00:37.593 --> 00:39.816 limiting erosion , the US Army Corps of 00:39.816 --> 00:42.038 Engineers in conjunction with the Great 00:42.038 --> 00:44.260 Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory 00:44.260 --> 00:46.427 and other federal agencies can monitor 00:46.427 --> 00:48.482 how quickly ice sets up on the Great 00:48.482 --> 00:50.316 Lakes . In the in the fall , the 00:50.316 --> 00:52.482 temperature can cool , um , you know , 00:52.482 --> 00:54.649 on the order of maybe like 5 degrees a 00:54.649 --> 00:57.990 month , but that last 4 degrees , uh , 00:58.009 --> 01:01.360 going from 4 °C to 0 °C can happen 01:01.360 --> 01:03.939 quite , quite rapidly . Course of a 01:03.939 --> 01:05.995 week or so there's plots showing the 01:05.995 --> 01:08.217 maximum ice coverage for each and every 01:08.217 --> 01:10.328 single year going back to the 1970s . 01:10.328 --> 01:12.050 Um , there's a lot of historic 01:12.050 --> 01:14.050 information you can compare it with 01:14.050 --> 01:13.739 current conditions . Environment Canada 01:13.739 --> 01:16.220 does very detailed ice maps as far as 01:16.220 --> 01:17.887 what's still open water , ice 01:17.887 --> 01:19.776 thicknesses , ice concentration . 01:19.776 --> 01:21.609 Having that information is key , 01:21.609 --> 01:23.664 especially when monitoring Lake Erie 01:23.664 --> 01:25.831 and the Niagara River , waterways that 01:25.831 --> 01:28.053 are used for navigation , but also as a 01:28.053 --> 01:29.776 power supplier to a lot of the 01:29.776 --> 01:32.010 Northeast in Canada . An ice boom , a 01:32.010 --> 01:34.510 series of steel pontoons connected that 01:34.510 --> 01:36.732 looks like Lake Erie's necklace , helps 01:36.732 --> 01:39.199 to control how and where ice sets up 01:39.199 --> 01:41.800 when it forms . As ice starts to come 01:41.800 --> 01:45.230 up against the boom . Instead of small 01:45.230 --> 01:48.069 pieces of ice flowing down the Niagara 01:48.069 --> 01:50.940 River , those small pieces of ice are 01:50.940 --> 01:53.510 trapped behind the boom , and then they 01:53.510 --> 01:55.830 consolidate much more quickly , and 01:55.830 --> 01:58.349 then they're a nice strong stable ice 01:58.349 --> 02:02.160 cover . And that helps reduce 02:02.160 --> 02:04.327 the amount of ice that goes downstream 02:04.327 --> 02:07.949 overall and the primary purpose 02:07.949 --> 02:11.119 is to prevent ice jams at the power 02:11.119 --> 02:13.600 intakes . Once ice develops and 02:13.600 --> 02:15.489 thickens up enough , the Corps of 02:15.489 --> 02:17.656 engineers . sends out what's called an 02:17.656 --> 02:19.878 ice wing flight . While it certainly is 02:19.878 --> 02:22.184 fun , it's not just a joy ride . 02:22.395 --> 02:24.617 Employees are working hard while in the 02:24.617 --> 02:27.934 air and on the ground . We sketch out 02:28.354 --> 02:32.199 what the ice looks like . Is it Uh , 02:32.389 --> 02:35.259 mostly open water with a few icebergs , 02:35.589 --> 02:39.240 is it ? I that is very thin and you can 02:39.240 --> 02:41.720 see through it . Is it very thick ice 02:41.720 --> 02:44.630 cover and if so , does it look like 02:44.630 --> 02:47.679 it's a whole bunch of pieces or solid 02:47.679 --> 02:49.512 ice ? Does it look more like the 02:49.512 --> 02:51.735 crushed ice coming from your freezer or 02:51.735 --> 02:53.846 does it look more like the sallid ice 02:53.846 --> 02:55.846 cubes ? So we take our sketches and 02:55.846 --> 02:57.957 calculate how much ice there is , and 02:57.957 --> 03:00.012 we use that to help decide when it's 03:00.012 --> 03:02.068 appropriate to remove the ice boom . 03:02.068 --> 03:04.235 Sadly , the last Several seasons , the 03:04.235 --> 03:06.449 Great Lakes , specifically Lake Erie , 03:06.630 --> 03:09.009 has seen less ice than average . This 03:09.009 --> 03:11.231 means that coastal erosion , especially 03:11.231 --> 03:13.398 in places like Presque Isle State Park 03:13.398 --> 03:15.398 in Pennsylvania , is happening at a 03:15.398 --> 03:17.660 fast pace . We go out every spring and 03:17.660 --> 03:19.327 do a full beach walk and do a 03:19.327 --> 03:21.493 measurement of the beaches , determine 03:21.493 --> 03:23.660 what our beach widths are and what our 03:23.660 --> 03:25.827 nourishment quantities can be required 03:25.827 --> 03:25.419 to meet the requirements of that 03:25.419 --> 03:27.363 project . We normally target about 03:27.363 --> 03:30.119 38,000 cubic yards of sand . year , um , 03:30.199 --> 03:32.255 those high lake levels come out with 03:32.255 --> 03:34.477 that low lake ice has had us increasing 03:34.477 --> 03:36.477 the nourishment quantities over the 03:36.477 --> 03:38.477 past 8 or 9 years just to keep up . 03:38.477 --> 03:40.477 We're not , we're not really making 03:40.477 --> 03:40.320 headway . We're just keeping up . So 03:40.320 --> 03:42.550 remember , as it gets colder and winter 03:42.550 --> 03:44.550 tries to transform the lakes into a 03:44.550 --> 03:46.970 frozen expanse , ice can offer more 03:46.970 --> 03:49.320 than just a picturesque view . Ice 03:49.320 --> 03:51.649 helps to prevent shoreline erosion and 03:51.649 --> 03:53.871 plays a crucial role in maintaining the 03:53.871 --> 03:55.240 region's natural balance .