On a sunny June day two weeks ago as fly fishermen peered down into the Anchor River searching for salmon, Sue Mauger, a stream ecologist with Cook Inletkeeper, also waded the swift waters. Mauger was on the hunt for something equally precious - at least to a scientist.
Data. Good, solid scientific data. ...
One of Mauger's jobs is to install and remove data loggers in streams. The loggers can sample water temperature every 15 minutes year-round. Loggers hanging in trees nearby also sample air temperature.
"People ask, 'Are you seeing any effects of climate change?' I would argue yes," said Mauger. "We're warmer now than in the past for water temperature. ... The stress in the watershed is enough it could have an impact on the productivity of the river system."
Mauger tells the News that scientists hope to use more extensively available data on air temperature in the Inlet region to estimate changes in water temperature farther into the past. Almost 50 streams are now being monitored.
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