Strong winds sent a wall of ice crashing into cottages along the southwestern shore of Manitoba’s Dauphin Lake on May 10, 2013. A total of 27 houses near Ochre Beach were damaged, 13 beyond repair. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite captured this view of the ice-covered lake on May 13.
Events like this, known as ice shoves, occur when chunks of floating ice are pushed rapidly toward the shoreline by strong winds. When the leading edge of a raft of floating ice reaches shore, large slabs of ice can surge ashore if winds provide enough momentum. Ice shoves occur frequently along lakes in sparsely-populated parts of northern Canada, but is rare that they cause significant damage.
Further Reading
- Mahoney, A. et al. (2004, March 1) Ice motion and driving forces during a spring ice shove on the Alaskan Chukchi coast. Journal of Glaciology, 50 (169), 195-207.
References & Resources
- CTV News (2013, May 14) High risk for ice pileup on shores of several lakes due to winds: province. Accessed May 15, 2013.
- CTV News (2013, May 13) Cleanup continues in Ochre Beach after wall of ice hits homes; wind alerts in effect for lake areas. Accessed May 15, 2013.
- Manitoba (2013, May 13) Flood Bulletin #11. Accessed May 15, 2013.
- Toronto Star (2013, May 11) Wall of ice blows out of Manitoba lake destroying cottages along beach. Accessed May 15, 2013.
- Winnipeg Free Press (2013, May 14) Anatomy of an ice shove. Accessed May 15, 2013.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Adam Voiland.
