A. The water column of Back Pond was weakly stratified when sensors were deployed. Surface water temperatures increased in mid-May and gradually got warmer until cooling down for a short time in early June. Deep waters stayed cold but began to warm slightly in early June.
B. Surface water temperature increased steadily from mid-June through early August before cooling slightly in mid to late August. Deep waters continued to warm slightly but stayed cold enough to maintain stratification.
C. Surface waters responded to a late season heat wave by warming again. Peak surface water temperature often occurs in July or August however, Back Pond’s peak surface water temperature occurred on Sept. 9 (26.6 °C/ 79.8 °F). Deep waters continued to warm slightly but stayed cold enough to maintain stratification.
D. Shallow waters began to cool and mix with waters from the middle depths. Deep waters were still cold but had started to warm slightly. The decrease in temperature difference between shallow and deep waters is a precursor to fall turnover.
E. Temperatures throughout the water column were becoming more uniform but temperature differences in the deep waters indicate that full mixing had not yet occurred when sensors were retrieved in late October.
