The ice has been out of Jordan Pond for a few months now, which means that the sensors attached to the gray and white buoy in the north end of Jordan Pond are busily collecting water quality data. Almost 15,000 measurements a day, to be precise! This season, the Jordan Pond Buoy was deployed on May 9, 2018—one of the earliest deployments in the Buoy’s six years of high-frequency monitoring. The Jordan Pond water quality measurements are paired with data collected by a weather station at the Jordan Pond House, and are uploaded live to our website, jpbuoy.com, twice daily at 10 a.m. and 10 p.m.
Speaking of jpbuoy.com, we have added some new features! We now have a data visualization page, where you can see some of the water quality metrics that are most important for the ecology of Jordan Pond. Ever wondered what the temperature profile of Jordan Pond looks like over the course of the season, or how oxygen levels at the surface of the lake change from spring to summer? You can answer these questions and more on the new “Data Visualizations” page on the website. We have also updated our “Who’s Who” section with bios of new collaborators, and will soon be adding photos and videos from Deployment 2018!
If you’d like more information, please reach out to us at jpbuoy@gmail.com. You can also follow our new Twitter page, @JPBuoy, where you’ll find photos and videos of all things Jordan Pond Buoy: boat trips to calibrate the Buoy’s sensors, behind the scenes work in the lab, our latest scientific updates, and of course, lots of scenic photos of Jordan Pond and the Bubbles. If you are visiting Acadia in person, please make a trip to the Jordan Pond House to eat a popover and check out our interactive kiosk displays, where you can get more in-depth information about the ecological significance of the Buoy’s water quality measurements, visualize recent trends in Jordan Pond water clarity, and explore historic photos of Jordan Pond to get a sense of its natural beauty through the years and changing seasons.
This work is made possible with generous support from Canon, U.S.A. We are looking forward to an annual visit from our friends at Canon and the opportunity to take them for a boat ride to see the Jordan Pond Buoy at work!