Ice Bridge Formed?
Moderator: drobarge
-
- IR Expert
- Posts: 501
- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:57 pm
- Isle Royale Visits: 12
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 79 times
- Contact:
Ice Bridge Formed?
Here's a screen shot of today's MODIS imagery. Amazing what a few weeks of very cold air can do. Looks like an ice bridge has formed, or is forming between the mainland and IR. The red, on the Canadian Ice map, means that between 90-100% of the ice is at least 15 cm thick (5.9").
- Midwest Ed
- IR Expert
- Posts: 1357
- Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2010 1:25 am
- Isle Royale Visits: 8
- Location: Quad Cities, IL
- Has thanked: 43 times
- Been thanked: 84 times
-
- IR Expert
- Posts: 501
- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:57 pm
- Isle Royale Visits: 12
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 79 times
- Contact:
Re: Ice Bridge Formed?
I thought about that too. And with nobody on the island this winter, pretty hard to know what's going on. I suppose if a collared wolf left IR, somebody may know about it. But that's just a guess.
- Midwest Ed
- IR Expert
- Posts: 1357
- Joined: Sat Jul 03, 2010 1:25 am
- Isle Royale Visits: 8
- Location: Quad Cities, IL
- Has thanked: 43 times
- Been thanked: 84 times
Re: Ice Bridge Formed?
When some of the wolves were going to be deposited just before winter there was some talk of penning them up for a while (to prevent an ice bridge escape) in hopes of acclimating them to their new home. Hopefully they've gotten used to and happy with their new home for a long enough period that the urge to head home has passed.
-
- IR Expert
- Posts: 501
- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:57 pm
- Isle Royale Visits: 12
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 79 times
- Contact:
Re: Ice Bridge Formed?
With an overabundance of moose, they have plenty of food. I guess the only reason they would cross the ice to Ontario is because of societal pressures. There was a lot of mortality last year with wolves killing other wolves that strayed into their territory. That may cause wolves to leave.Midwest Ed wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 3:44 pmWhen some of the wolves were going to be deposited just before winter there was some talk of penning them up for a while (to prevent an ice bridge escape) in hopes of acclimating them to their new home. Hopefully they've gotten used to and happy with their new home for a long enough period that the urge to head home has passed.
-
- IR Expert
- Posts: 501
- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:57 pm
- Isle Royale Visits: 12
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 79 times
- Contact:
Re: Ice Bridge Formed?
The Canadian Ice map from February 16, 2021. The light purple called "I" is medium thick ice, meaning 15cm to 30 cm, or about 6" to 12" thick. You could drive a snowmobile to IR right now if you wanted to.
-
- IR Expert
- Posts: 501
- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:57 pm
- Isle Royale Visits: 12
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 79 times
- Contact:
Re: Ice Bridge Formed?
MODIS from today, February 17, 2021. Now we'll see how long the ice bridge lasts.
-
- IR Expert
- Posts: 501
- Joined: Wed Jun 20, 2012 6:57 pm
- Isle Royale Visits: 12
- Has thanked: 1 time
- Been thanked: 79 times
- Contact:
Re: Ice Bridge Formed?
The ice bridge is now gone. Looks like it lasted 7-9 days. We'll see if any wolves left the island, or any wolves came over from Ontario.
- Grizzly22
- NewbieCake
- Posts: 17
- Joined: Sun Jan 10, 2021 8:10 pm
- Isle Royale Visits: 2
- Location: Grand Haven Michigan
- Has thanked: 9 times
Re: Ice Bridge Formed?
treeplanter wrote: ↑Sun Feb 14, 2021 3:35 pmI thought about that too. And with nobody on the island this winter, pretty hard to know what's going on. I suppose if a collared wolf left IR, somebody may know about it. But that's just a guess.
They will definitely be able to check in on that this summer when they come back on the island. They typically need to be within a specific radius of the collar to be able to track it. but we will have to cross our fingers and wait and see.