There’s a lot riding on Ice Out – the day when New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee is sufficiently free of ice for the popular MS Mount Washington sightseeing vessel to reach all five of its ports. When that time comes, Ice Out celebrations can begin and spring is just around the corner.
But to those who study lake ecosystems, Ice Out means more than the start of boating season. In the Northeast’s lake ecosystems, ice is a determinant of everything from water temperature to aquatic food chains to water quality. And according to long-term climate data, ice-out has been moving earlier and earlier – a sign, scientists say, of warming winters in the Northeast as a whole.
The Christian Science Monitor Daily for April 8, 2021 csmonitor.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from csmonitor.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
There’s a lot riding on Ice Out – the day when New Hampshire’s Lake Winnipesaukee is sufficiently free of ice for the popular MS Mount Washington sightseeing vessel to reach all five of its ports. When that time comes, Ice Out celebrations can begin and spring is just around the corner.
But to those who study lake ecosystems, Ice Out means more than the start of boating season. In the Northeast’s lake ecosystems, ice is a determinant of everything from water temperature to aquatic food chains to water quality. And according to long-term climate data, ice-out has been moving earlier and earlier – a sign, scientists say, of warming winters in the Northeast as a whole.