Great Lakes Sees Historic Low Ice Coverage—'Crossed a Threshold'

Ice coverage across the Great Lakes has now reached a historic low, researchers have found.

NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) reports that the overall ice coverage for all five Great Lakes stands at 2.7 percent as of February 11, 2024.

"We've crossed a threshold in which we are at a historic low for ice cover for the Great Lakes as a whole," GLERL's Bryan Mroczka, a physical scientist, said in a statement. "We have never seen ice levels this low in mid-February on the lakes since our records began in 1973."

Lake Superior, the largest of the lakes, is only seeing 1.7 percent ice coverage, while Lake Michigan is only experiencing 2.6 percent.

Lake Huron is at 5.9 percent, Erie is at 0.05, and Lake Ontario stands at 1.7 percent.

Erie and Ontario are seeing the lowest, making them both basically ice free. Both of these lakes are tied at their previous historic lows.

Out of the five Great Lakes, Lake Superior is seeing the most rapid decline in ice cover each year. A 2021 study found that it was one of the fastest-warming lakes on Earth. This was largely down to climate change.

The lack of ice is a knock-on effect from extremely mild temperatures this winter season. Although there were some icy temperatures in January, it was not for very long meaning it did not sustain ice for long.

At this time of year, the Great Lakes is usually at peak ice coverage over around 53 percent for the entire basin, making these current lows shocking indeed.

The globe is currently experiencing an El Nino weather year which usually means warmer than usual temperatures across parts of the U.S. during the winter. But as the ice coverage has been declining across the Great Lakes for several years, experts believe climate change is also playing a role.

This is concerning because the ice coverage of the Great Lakes is important for several reasons.

Communities rely on the ice for economic reasons, due to ice fishing operations and outdoor sports. The ice also greatly effects the lake's ecosystems. Fish use the ice for protection from predators, and it also provides breeding grounds for certain species.

NOAA reports that there is also evidence that the ice plays a role in the wider biological processes of the water.

A severe lack of ice can also cause erosion to the shoreline, and subsequent damage to infrastructure.

"Evaporation happens when there is a large temperature difference between the air and water," GLERL researcher Lauren Fry said in a statement. "We tend to see the highest evaporation rates during the fall and early winter when the surface water is relatively warm and cold blasts of Arctic air enter the basin."

Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Great Lakes? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.