Beautiful, strange, powerful - monstrous ice heaves rise up on Lake Carlos

• Ice heave

An ice heave about 10 feet high erupted south of the township access on the east side of Lake Carlos. (Photo by Lowell Anderson)

Talk about it

They’re beautiful, strange looking and have the potential to cause a lot of problems.

They’re called ice heaves or ice ridges and some wicked looking ones are rising up along the east side of Lake Carlos.

Carol Ellison, who lives on East Lake Carlos Drive, said the ice heaves are the worst she’s seen in at least 12 years.

One of the heaves is at least 10 feet high and hasn’t hit the shoreline yet. If it does, it will push up the land and anything else that’s in its way.

Ice heaves are a common sight on bigger lakes in the spring but this winter’s weird weather – warm temperatures followed by an arctic cold spell – caused the ice to move early.

What exactly are ice heaves and how are they formed?

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources offers the following information:

“Ice heaving” or “ice jacking” is a powerful natural force that forms a feature along the shoreline known as an “ice ridge.”

They can cause significant damage to retaining walls, docks and boat lifts, and sometimes even to a house or cabin close to shore.

Ice ridges are caused by the pushing action of a lake’s ice sheet against the shore. Cracks form in the ice because of different contraction rates at the top and bottom of the ice sheet.

The phenomenon is more common in years when the ice sheet lacks an insulating snow cover.

Ice cracks also develop because the edges of the ice sheet are sometimes firmly attached to the shore.

When water rises in the cracks and freezes, the ice sheet expands slightly. Rising air temperatures warm the ice, leading to additional expansion, which exerts a tremendous thrust against the shore.

Alternate warming and cooling of the ice sheet lead to additional pushing action, causing the ice to creep shoreward and scrape, gouge, and push soil and rock into mounds (called “ice ridges,” “ice pushes” or “ramparts”).

WHAT TO DO

What can be done about ice ridges after they form?

The DNR says that because ice ridges do provide ecological benefits (described later in this story), the ideal reaction to the formation of an ice ridge would be to do nothing other than remove personal property from its zone of influence.

However, the DNR noted that this is often impractical. Ice ridges can impede use of the lake by a property owner or the users of public lakeshore facilities.

Therefore, action may be taken to remedy the results of ice activity. Lake access can be obtained by ramping over or cutting through the ice ridge.

There are circumstances, however, when it may be necessary to remove or grade an ice ridge. An individual public waters work permit is not required from the DNR to remove or grade an ice ridge if the work meets the following conditions:

--The ice ridge resulted from ice action within the last year.

--The project is either exempt from local permits or is authorized by issuance of a local government permit.

--Not more than 200 feet of shoreline is affected.

--All ice ridge material that is composed of muck, clay, or organic sediment is deposited and stabilized at an upland site above the ordinary high-water level (OHWL).

--All ice ridge material that is composed of sand or gravel is removed as provided above or graded to conform to the original cross section and alignment of the lakebed, with a finished surface at or below the OHWL.

--No additional excavation or replacement fill material occurs on the site.

--All exposed areas are immediately stabilized as needed to prevent erosion and sedimentation.

--Local zoning officials, the watershed district (if applicable) and the soil and water conservation district are given at least seven days’ notice before beginning the project.

--Removal or grading of an ice ridge must not disturb emergent aquatic vegetation, unless authorized by an aquatic plant management permit from the DNR’s Division of Fisheries.

BENEFITS OF ICE RIDGES

What are the benefits of ice ridges?

Ice ridges are natural berms that have formed around Minnesota’s lakes over thousands of years, the DNR notes. These mounds of material provide the lake with ecological benefits by creating a barrier to nutrient loading.

Nutrients collect on the landward side of the mound, producing fertile soil where plants and trees thrive.

The root systems of this near-shore plant community help to protect the shore from erosion and soak up additional nutrients. Shade and habitat offered by near-shore plants benefit organisms along the shore and in the lake, thus supporting nesting and spawning fish.

Ice ridges also work to protect the shore from the lake itself. For example, a small ice ridge formed one year is followed by additional pushes in ensuing years. The ridge is fortified by jamming rocks into it. The roots of the near-shore plant community bind together the soil and rock to form natural shoreline protection.

Tags: local news, ice heaves, news, ice