Snowpack project, Lesson 1: Introducing the Snowpack project and
climate change in Maine
Assignment 1: Broader contexts for snow
You have just read excerpts from Maine’s Climate Future. And have been assigned an additional
reading:
"Packed to the Hilt" an Audubon magazine archived article
(http://archive.audubonmagazine.org/truenature/truenature1011.html - )
1. Prepare a brief explanation of the subnivean environment. You will present this
explanation to the class.
The subnivean is the zone underneath the snow pack and above the soil. The snow
provides insulation for organisms that remain active throughout the winter (and
provides some protection from predators as well).
2. Below is snow depth data from Greenville, Maine form three winters: 1938, 1963 and
1969. For each year explain how the different snowpack scenarios may affect organisms
that rely on the subnivean for survival. Defend your explanation using what you’ve
learned from the readings. You will present the data and your interpretation to the class.
Figure 1 data source: NOAA National Climatic Data Center, http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/
Organisms and tree roots, fungi and microbes had sufficient cover throughout the whole
winter season in 1968-69. From Late Decemeber to April in 1973-74 there may not have been
deep snow, but there was a consistent snowpack, thus if the winter was mild the existing
snowpack may have provided enough insulation. Snow was shallow and erratic during the
winter of 1963-64. There were losses in the depth in February and again in March. While
these may have coincided with warming periods (and melting events), if the weather again
became cold there was no insulating cover for the organisms relying on the snowpack.
Snowpack project, Lesson 1: Introducing the Snowpack project and
climate change in Maine
Assignment 1: Broader contexts for snow
You have just read excerpts from Maine’s Climate Future. And have been assigned an additional
reading:
“Flood of March 1936” a NOAA article on the flood of 1936
(http://www.erh.noaa.gov/nerfc/historical/mar1936.htm)
1. Prepare a brief explanation of community resilience (a good resource is NOAA’s Coastal
Resilience fact sheet: http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/resilience.html). You will
present this explanation to the class.
From the above resources: “… resilience means building the ability of a community to
"bounce back" after hazardous events such as hurricanes, coastal storms, and flooding –
rather than simply reacting to impacts” (your students should say something along this
line, but not these exact words.)
2. Using the attached data create a graph to answer the question:
In what month of the year are most of Maine’s most damaging floods?
This is a question about frequency (in which month is the frequency of damaging
storms the greatest); your students should produce a frequency plot.
3. Present your graph and conclusions to the class.
Frequency of Maine's Memorable Floods
Number
4
3
2
2
1
0
Jan
1
0
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
1
0
0
Sep
Oct
0
Nov
Dec
The majority of memorable floods in the State of Maine occur in April. Fully half of the
memorable floods occur in February, March, and April. You may prompt your students to
think of snow, rain and ice conditions that all lead to these late winter/early springtime
floods notoriety.
Snowpack project, Lesson 1: Introducing the Snowpack project and
climate change in Maine
Assignment 1: Broader contexts for snow
Chronology of major and other memorable floods in Maine, 1785-1988 (from:
http://md.water.usgs.gov/publications/wsp-2375/me/)
Date
Area affected
Remarks
1785
Southwestern areas
Flood used for comparison in historical documents.
March 2,
1896
Kennebec, Androscoggin, and Saco River
basins.
On Androscoggin River, the next largest flood after 1936 and
1953 floods. Peak discharge of record on Penobscot River at West
Enfield and Passadumkeag River at Lowell. Damage, $2 million.
May 2, 1923
Aroostook, Meduxnekeag, St. Croix,
Union, Piscataquis, and Penobscot River
basins.
March 19,
1936
South-central Maine
Peak discharge of record on Androscoggin River at Auburn.
Deaths, 5; damage, $25 million.
August 21,
1939
Town of West Baldwin
Rain of cloudburst intensity covering about 100 square miles.
Deaths, 3.
June 1943
Upper Androscoggin River basin and along
boundary with northeast New Hampshire.
Peak discharge of record on Diamond River at Wentworth
Location, N.H.
March 2730, 1953
Southwestern Maine
Greatest peak discharge on Saco River at Conway, N.H. Severe
flooding in Little Androscoggin and Sandy River basins.
May 28,
1961
Eastern Maine
Greatest peak discharges on St. Croix River at Baring near
Milltown, Machias River at Whitneyville near Machias, and
Narraguagus River at Cherryfield. Damage, $1 million.
November
4, 1966
Headwaters of Kennebec and Piscataquis
Rivers.
April 30,
1973
Northern and eastern Maine
Greatest peak discharges of record on Fish River near Fort Kent
and Dennys River at Dennysville.
Feb. 2, 1976
Penobscot Bay, southern Maine
Storm flood inundated downtown Bangor. Damage, $2.6 million.
Feb. 7, 1978
Southwestern coastal areas
The blizzard of 1978. Damage, $20 million.
April 30,
1979
St. John River basin
Peak discharge of record on St. John River at Fort Kent. Damage,
$650,000.
April 18,
1983
Allagash River basin
Peak discharge of record on Allagash River at Allagash.
April 1, 1987
Central and south-central Maine.
Peak discharges of record on the Kennebec, Piscataquis,
Carrabassett, and Little Androscoggin Rivers. Most devastating of
record in Maine. Damage, $100 million.
Snowpack project, Lesson 1: Introducing the Snowpack project and
climate change in Maine
Assignment 1: Broader contexts for snow
You have just read excerpts from Maine’s Climate Future. And have been assigned an additional
reading:
th
“Changes in Streamflow Timing in New England During the 20 Century” a USGS fact sheet
(http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3019/pdf/FS2005_3019.pdf
Maine’s diadromous fish migrate into Maine’s freshwaters in the spring. Diadromous fish rely on a
variety of cues that tell them when to migrate into freshwater streams in the spring, including length of
daylight, water temperature and stream flow rates. A primary concern for fisheries scientists and
managers is a gradual decoupling of these signals due to climate change, which could lead to asynchrony
(mis-matched timing) in cues. Amount of daylight in spring is a constant over years, but if water
temperature increases and streamflow is reduced or is earlier because of reduced snowpack then fish
migration may be improperly timed or difficult due to lack of sufficient streamflow.
1. Prepare a brief explanation of the role snowmelt plays in fish migration. You will present
this explanation to the class.
2. Below is a graph depicting center-of-flow (the peak of the spring runoff) during the
spring melt from 1900 to 2000. Circle three years (circle three of the open dots), label
each with the approximate year, and explain how the center-of-flow for those three
years might have affected adult alewives, who migrate into streams from the ocean in
May to spawn.
th
From: Changes in Streamflow Timing in New England During the 20 Century
Depending on which years the students choose:
A later center-of-flow may indicate conditions where the water was too high, the volume
too much, the flow too great for the alewives to run (although students may say that a
late center-of-flow is good because it will give the alewives plenty of flow to navigate the
streams). An earlier center-of-flow may leave water levels too low for the fish to
navigate around impediments that would usually be covered by the water. An earlier
center-of-flow may also give the stream water time to warm up, which is physiologically
stressful to fish.