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Winter Lake Monitoring: Life and Limnology Under the Ice
February 3, 2021 @ 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm CST
Free
Are lakes as quiet and lifeless when frozen over as they seem? Join Lakes Environmental Association Research Director Ben Peierls to find out how the traditional view of wintertime lake dormancy is being revised. He will talk about recent winter research, including work at LEA, that has given us a new perspective on annual lake cycles, even as climate warming threatens whether lakes ice over at all. Enjoy a multimedia look at life and water quality under the ice and how we go about measuring that.
Speaker
Dr. Ben Peierls
Research Director @Lakes Environmental Association
Dr. Ben Peierls, Maine Lake Science Center research director, grew up on Long Island, New York and spent many summers visiting family at Sand Pond in Denmark. Ben and his brother maintain a camp on the lake to this day. Since getting a Bachelor’s degree in biology from Cornell University thirty years ago, he has been actively involved as a technician, graduate student, and postdoctoral researcher in aquatic ecosystem research, including studies of lakes, large rivers, and estuaries. His focus has been on phytoplankton, microbial ecology, and general water quality issues, such as eutrophication. Ben received an M.S. and a Ph.D. in marine sciences from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was involved in the field work and data management for several long-term estuarine monitoring programs. When not studying aquatic systems, he enjoys sailing on and swimming in them, as well as playing ultimate and performing music.