Howard Pond in Hanover, Maine has joined a growing number of lakes that will be monitored for possible adverse effects of global warming.
University of Maine's Dan Buckley, Ph.D., in collaboration with other scientists and organizations, hopes to place several HOBO Logger® loggers in 100 Maine lakes over the next two years. Data loggers will be used to measure and record temperature and light intensity UA-002-64, UA-002-08 at various depths.
Buckley recently described details of the monitoring project for Howard Pond residents.
"Although the melting of polar ice caps and glaciers is getting more attention in the global warming discussion," Buckley explained, "climate change can have a huge impact on the ecology of lakes."
According to Buckley, forecasts show that in 50 years, the region's overall climate in southern Connecticut.
"The scary thing is the lake changes faster than the air," Buckley said.
Research on Lake Superior shows that the lake's average surface water temperature has risen about 4ºF since the 1980s.
"Over the same period," Buckley said, "atmospheric temperatures rose by 1ºF."
"In this region, 'ice' dates are 10 to 15 days earlier than they were in the 19th and early 20th centuries," Buckley explained.
For example, in the 1880s the ice at Langley Lake usually went away in mid-May; however, there has been a dramatic change since the 1960s - the thaw has already occurred.
"Some researchers," Buckley said, "suggest that the earlier thaw is the reason the lake's temperature is climbing faster and faster."
This warming trend could lead to the loss of cold-water fish, such as trout and salmon, from some lakes.
"As for Howard Pond," Barkley said, "the forecast might not be that bad."
According to Buckley, the pond is 118 feet deep, which is unusually deep relative to its surface area. This feature will help protect against the effects of global warming.
Howard Pond residents take nothing for granted. The pond's conservation association will place two location loggers, UA-002-64, UA-002-08, which will record temperature and light every 15 minutes and remain in the pond for up to 208 days. Buckley will use the data to compare data from other lakes in Maine.
The Howard Pond project will likely begin next year.
