Winter Thermal Structure, Ice Conditions and Climate of Lake Champlain,
Abstract
Winter thermal structure and ice conditions in the land-fast ice cover of Lake Champlain were studied in detail for the winters of 1975-76 and 1976-77. The lake was instrumented to a depth of 8.5 m with a string of highly calibrated thermistors attached to an ice mooring system and connected to a data logger at Shelburne Point, Vermont, during the winter of 1975-76 and at Gordon Landing on Grand Isle, Vermont, during 1976-77. This data logger automatically recorded water temperatures from the surface of the lake though snow, ice and water vertical profiles to the bottom of the lake every four hours. Pertinent meteorological parameters are presented for the appropriate measurement sites during the two winter periods, November '75-April '76, and November '76-April '77. Computations were made of freezing degree days (C) for both winters and correlated with ice formation dates. Predictions of ice growth, using the Stefan equation with an empirical coefficient, were correlated with actual ice growth. Documentation was made of the Lake Champlain Transportation Company's first attempt at wintertime navigation by ferry from Gordon Landing, Vermont, to Cumberland Head, New York, in a land fast ice cover during one of the coldest winters of this century. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1980
- Accession Number
- ADA082304
Entities
People
- Roy E. Bates
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory