Our regional network of 94 lakes and 25 streams forms the backbone of our research program. The water quality monitoring sites in our network cover 40 percent of the watershed area in the Adirondack Park. We also use the long-term dataset from the Adirondack Lakes Survey Corporation, which monitors 54 lakes and ponds in least impacted watersheds. Our combined datasets cover 20 years and represent the entire range of watershed conditions in the Adirondack Park. The potential of these datasets is amazing and we've used them successfully to investigate stressors and determine the effect of watershed road density on sodium and chloride in lakes (Kelting and Laxson 2010; Kelting et al. 2012). Current water quality research projects include:
- determining the regional effects of (1) road salting on watershed nutrient export and soil base cation depletion; (2) road networks and road runoff on lake and stream water quality; and (3) watershed attributes and land use on long-term changes in lake water quality
- using remote sensing to estimate trophic indicators both spatially and temporally in an effort to partition the effects of various stressors on water quality
- high resolution environmental monitoring in Upper Saranac Lake
Explore our Upper Saranac Lake Environmental Monitoring Platform
