Solar Storm could bring northern lights to all of Michigan tonight!

Posted on by farlane

Aurora Borealis over Lake Superior by Lake Superior Photo

Shawn Malone shared this photo yesterday saying: Incredible. There are now 4 CME’s earthward directed headed our way in the next few days. Levels of up to G4 storming are now forecast for auroras (see below for chart). Two of the CME’s merging late the 10th into the 11th are responsible for the G4 forecast for that time. I can’t ever remember this many earthward CME’s in such a short period of time from one region (3664 in this case).

…This is pretty amazing. Region 3664 is HUGE. Looks like that region alone has released 5 CMEs now, the last one tbd if it is earthward, but the rest appear to be with G4 storming in the forecast for Fri into Sat and very possibly beyond. This is the weekend to make a trip if you can, however we have cloud cover tomorrow night (aka tonight), MN looks better in that respect

FYI a G4 level solar storm can make it possible to see the aurora as far south as Detroit!!! She took this near Marquette. Follow her on Facebook or Instagram and FOR SURE view & purchase her work at LakeSuperiorPhoto.com where she has a massive northern lights gallery!

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All clear beneath Copper Harbor

Posted on by farlane
Lake Superior, Copper Harbor, MI by Michigan Nut Photography

Lake Superior, Copper Harbor, MI by Michigan Nut Photography

Let’s stay up on the Keweenaw Peninsula today with a look at the crystal clear waters of Lake Superior as seen from under the surface of Copper Harbor! For almost all my life, Lake Superior has been the cleanest & clearest of the five Great Lakes. Imagine my surprise to learn that in 2017, Lake Michigan & Lake Huron were found to be more clear than Lake Superior:

While Lake Superior has not gotten any dirtier, lakes Huron and Michigan have gotten significantly clearer in the past 20 years or so, a study published earlier this year in the Journal of Great Lakes Research found.

Anecdotally, scientists knew water clarity was improving in those lakes. But it hadn’t been quantified.

“What surprised us was the magnitude of the change,” said Robert Shuchman, a study co-author and co-director of the Michigan Tech Research Institute. “We had no idea the data was going to tell us that Huron and Michigan have surpassed the water clarity in Lake Superior. That was the startling piece.”

Scientists analyzed satellite images of the lakes captured between 1998 and 2012. Over that period, they found, the depth that light could penetrate down into the water — known as the photic zone — increased by about 20 percent in lakes Michigan and Huron.

They attribute part of that change to less phosphorous runoff. Climate change also likely plays a role. But the dominant factor is the explosion of invasive zebra and quagga mussels in the lakes since the late 1990s, researchers concluded.

Some of the highest abundances of quagga mussels in the world are found in Lake Michigan, said Gary Fahnenstiel, a senior research scientist at Michigan Tech and study co-author.

So in the end, not great that Michigan & Huron passed Superior in this. I looked to see if anything had changed in that regard, but it appears not.

You can view & purchase a bunch more photos of this wild place including some more underwater shots in the Porcupine Mountains & Keweenaw Peninsula gallery on MichiganNutPhotography.com!

Lots more Lake Superior on Michigan in Pictures!

Michigan Beach Gem Season

Posted on by farlane

Miners Beach Gems - Munising by Steven M Last

Miners Beach Gems by Steven M Last

The warming temps are definitely bringing out the rockhounds on Michigan’s Great Lakes beaches! Stephen got this beauty shot featuring a rose quartz in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore near Munising. See more on his Flickr & happy hunting!

More Michigan rocks & stones on Michigan in Pictures.

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Geared up for the photo

Posted on by farlane

Intrepid MK2 8x10 at Lake Superior by Kirt E Carter

Intrepid MK2 8×10 at Lake Superior by Kirt E Carter

Here’s a sweet shot large-format, black & white shot of Kirt’s rig for a recent photo shoot at Little Girl’s Point on Lake Superior near the Michigan/Wisconsin border. You can see more on Flickr & for sure check out his website to view & purchase his work! 

More black & white photography on Michigan in Pictures & you can click to read more about the Intrepid MK2 8×10 camera.

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Ice Cave Sunrise

Posted on by farlane

Grand Island Ice Cave Sunrise by Michigan Nut Photography

Grand Island Ice Cave Sunrise by Michigan Nut Photography

Incredible shot from inside an ice cave on Lake Superior’s Grand Island taken last weekend. You can check out another on John’s Facebook page and view & purchase his work at michigannutphotography.com. 

More photos & information at the Grand Island tag on Michigan in Pictures!

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Make Isle Royale your office in 2022!

Posted on by farlane

Tobin Harbor Sunrise by Carl TerHaar

Tobin Harbor Sunrise by Carl TerHaar

How would you like to wake up to this view?? Well, if you are a college student, the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose Research Project is seeking volunteers to assist with data collection for the 2022 summer field season. Students studying natural resources, conservation, ecology, or related fields will gain valuable field work experience working with distinguished researchers in Isle Royale National Park in the longest continuous study of any predator-prey system in the world. 

The opportunity is for 4-5 weeks between early-May and mid-June, and requires students to have documented experience backpacking & camping for extended periods of time in remote settings, proficiency with orienteering, and  the ability to get along with others in backcountry settings for 10-day periods of time are all critical. Get the full rundown of qualifications, activities & more on their website at IsleRoyaleWolf.org.

Carl is definitely Michigan in Pictures’s Isle Royale Bureau Chief! His photos feature prominently in our posts about Isle Royale & his photo of a Bull Moose Faceoff is one of the most popular photos of all time on Michigan in Pictures. He  took this way back in the summer of 2009, and you can see hundreds more in his Isle Royale National Park gallery on Flickr. For sure head over to his Mackinaw Scenics website to view & purchase his work!

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#TBT: Walking with the Icefoot on Agate Beach

Posted on by farlane

Winter morning on Agate Beach by Gary McCormick

Winter morning on Agate Beach by Gary McCormick

Here’s a special Science Term Throwback Thursday from January 14th 8 years ago!

Ernest W. Marshall talks about a common winter feature along considerable stretches of Great Lakes shorelines, the Icefoot, a narrow fringe of ice attached to the coast:

Air and water temperatures must be sufficiently low before an icefoot begins to form. The conditions favorable for icefoot formation are broad open shorelines gradually sloping below water level, and facing so that wind-blown spray is carried inland toward the shore to freeze. The character of growth of an icefoot differs during different periods of the winter. During the course of the winter the icefoot may suffer periods of denudation alternating with periods of accretion. The development of an icefoot can be held at one stage by the early freezing of fast ice offshore. An icefoot can be composed of any combination of frozen spray or lake water, snow accumulations, brash, stranded icefloes, and sand which is either thrown up on the icefoot by wave action or is blown out from the exposed beaches.

Observations of the icefoot along the shorelines of Lakes Superior and Erie indicated that the moderately steep portions of the shore were characterized by narrow terraces composed of frozen slush and brash thrown up by storm winds. The outer edge of this icefoot was often cusp-like in form, resulting from the mechanical and melting action of the waves. The inner portions of the cusps acted to concentrate the wave action, forming blowholes which threw spray back on the icefoot.

You can click to read more.

Gary took this photo at one of my favorite places, Agate Beach on Lake Superior in Grand Marais. In the distance is Grand Sable Dunes & the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. See more in Gary’s Grand Marais Michigan gallery including a shot of a staggeringly huge ice mound & view and purchase his work at Footsore Fotography.

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Slip & Splash at Black Rocks

Posted on by farlane

Slip & Splash by Rudy Malmquist

Slip & Splash by Rudy Malmquist

“Black Rocks is one of Marquette’s coolest attractions, in my opinion. There are many, to be sure, but cliff diving into a frigid Lake Superior is a rush. And if you wait until the middle of August, the water isn’t too cold by most people’s standards. Which is to say not too cold. Not warm, but not cold.”
~ Jesse Land, Awesome Mitten’s Resident Yooper

Awesome Mitten shares tips & directions to Black Rocks in Marquette’s Presque Isle Park:

As one of the coolest attractions in Marquette, the Black Rocks are an ancient rock formation that stands 20-30 feet above Lake Superior. Aside from the height, the dark color of the cliffs adds a dramatic landscape to the shoreline along the tip of Presque Isle Park.

Rudy took this photo last summer. See his latest on his Flickr!

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La Chappelle: The incredible Chapel Rock

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Chapel Rock by John Gagnon

Chapel Rock by John Gagnon

Atlas Obscura says that although there’s a whole lot to see in the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, hikers should keep their eyes peeled for one feature in particular: Chapel Rock, once known as La Chappelle:

Composed of Cambrian age sandstone dating back approximately 500 million years, Chapel Rock is the result of the erosion caused by a proglacial lake somewhat confusingly referred to as “Nipissing Great Lakes.” This giant body of water consisted of separate basins joined by straits, and once occupied present-day Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Lake Michigan, and Georgian Bay. Around 3,800 years ago, the high waters of Nipissing Great Lakes carved through the soft sandstone, resulting in today’s dramatic formation, which juts out into Lake Superior.

Although Chapel Rock’s stone is mostly beige, its base is a warm orange, thanks to mineral concentrations. The sandstone cliffs that comprise Pictured Rocks are full of iron, copper, manganese, and limonite, which impart red, orange, blue, green, brown, black, and white hues. Not long ago, a natural rock bridge spanned the area between Chapel Rock and the mainland. It collapsed in the 1940s, leaving the formation unconnected with the rest of the shore. Thankfully, the rest of the structure has remained intact and is protected from climbers by order of the Lakeshore Superintendent.

The rock isn’t the only thing that has proven to be remarkably durable. Charles Penny, a member of the Douglass Houghton expedition responsible for exploring Lake Superior’s southern shore, admiringly described a single pine tree that grew like a “spire” out of the sparse dirt covering the top of the outcropping. Till this day, the same resilient pine stands sentinel over Chapel Rock, connected to the mainland by its extensive root system.

More at Atlas Obscura & check out more Chapel Rock photos on Michigan in Pictures that include pictures of the pine tree’s astounding root system.

See more in John’s Pictured Rocks gallery on Flickr.

 

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Superior’s Wink

Posted on by farlane

Superiors Wink by James Woolcock

Superior’s Wink by James Woolcock

Back in May, James took this photo & shared: “Superior, for our 8 days along your shores, your waters have been so calm, belying your reputation as the angry instrument of so many shipwrecks. I get the wink, o’ great one. I won’t tell a soul.”

See more from James on his Flickr.

PS: Don’t trust the wink, James – Superior is wily!!! More from Michigan’s mighty Lake Superior (including another pic from James) on Michigan in Pictures.

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