NOVEMBER 2012, NO 1 The Lotic Volunteer Temperature, Electrical Conductivity, and Stage Sensing Network

A LoVoTECS Newsletter by Mark Green Welcome to our newsletter! This is the first in what will become quarterly updates about the happen- ings in our Lotic Volunteer Temperature, Elec- trical Conductivity, and Stage Sensing network (LoVoTECS). We will use this forum to update our partners on activities within the network and provide statewide syntheses of the the data you are collecting. But first, a little bit about who we are. LoVoTECS is funded by the National Sci- ence Foundation through a cooperative agreement to the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) pro- gram. The network is being coordinated by a group of researchers, staff, and students at Plymouth State University – and implemented by our broad group of partners, including educa- tors, researchers, government agencies, non-profit organizations, and citizen scientists. Our goal is to improve our understanding of New Hampshire’s water resources and help develop a technically advanced workforce by providing educational opportunities to in- teract with large data sets. We will accomplish this by building a state-of-the-art, broad scale and high-frequency hydrologic sensing network using simple sensors operated by a diverse group of partners. We are grateful for your collaboration and are excited to improve hydrologic knowledge and scientific training in New Hampshire. Mark is an Assistant Professor of Hydrology at Plymouth State University’s Center for the Environment.

September K-12 Teacher Workshop of data, and an overview of the research scope of the by Doug Earick LoVoTECS project. Teacher Workshop: In attendance were seven middle school / high school Doug Earick, Errin Volitis, Sandy Amborn, and Ash- teachers and two college-level instructors, each having ley Hyde took part in a hands-on LoVoTECS teacher volunteered to have themselves and their classes involved workshop on Saturday, September 22 at Prospect Moun- in the project through the collection of data at their tain High School in Alton. The workshop was the first of respective school sites. Schools from Pittsburg, Keene, a series of training sessions for teacher volunteers involved Prospect Mountain, Plainfield, Dover, and Newport were in the program, and included instruction in the set-up represented, as well as New England College and Great and use of water quality sensors, analysis and application Bay Community College.

Newletter from the LoVoTECS Network - Plymouth State University and NH EPSCoR m LoVoTECS T 603-960-4413 B Email Page 1 project. Future workshops will focus on the development of curriculum and student research opportunities. Now that the beloved hammer drill has fallen silent, a plan has been devised for winter data collection. Starting th Doug is a Research Assistant Professor at Plymouth State Univer- the week of November 10 the loggers will capture data sity’s Center for the Environment. at a 15-minute interval during the winter months and well into May of 2013. Providing safe access and weather conditions, volunteers will continue to visit their sites monthly; although field measurements and data down- loading may not be possible volunteers will make a visual check that their loggers are secure. While logger security and data collection is very important to us, volunteer safety is our highest priority. In locations where it is im- practical to secure the loggers, they will be removed and stored until conditions allow for reinstallation.

Errin is a Hydrologic Technician at Plymouth State University’s Center for the Environment.

Sally Jean from Keene State Coll., Marshall Davenson from Keene H.S., Sandy Amborn from UNH, and Ashley Hyde from Plymouth State U. look at an area map as they plan a sensor deployment.

Network Growth by Errin Volitis With the last leaves hanging delicately to the trees and the impending first statewide blanket of snow we have concluded our sensor installation for the year. To date, the sensor network is 90 percent installed with the remaining sites being of two categories; large river sites requiring specialized housing or specific strategic geo- graphic locations for the statewide network.

Although we are no longer recruiting for volunteers to host sensors in local streams and rivers, we still have op- portunities for becoming involved in the program. Along with the collection of the stream sensor data we have a pilot project to monitor electrical conductance of precip- itation statewide. A few weeks ago, Ashley Hyde and I placed simple rain gauges in our own back yards and tried a variety of rain collectors to test methods for statewide use. We aim to have 10 to 12 precipitation sites statewide; the collected data will be used to understand the elec- trical conductivity of precipitation in the State, which will help us interpret the stream and river data that is Current sensor locations around New Hampshire and four sites in the already being collected. Please contact us for additional Plum Island Ecosystem Long Term Ecological Research site in Mas- information or to become enrolled in this branch of the sachusetts.

Newletter from the LoVoTECS Network - Plymouth State University and NH EPSCoR m LoVoTECS T 603-960-4413 B Email Page 2 Current list of LoVoTECS sites.

Site Name Abbreviation Location Sensor Host Organization Beaver Brook BBD Keene Keene HS Bogle Brook BBK Peterborough Otter Brook Farm Beaver Brook BBU Keene Keene HS Beaver Brook BBW Keene Plymouth State Univ. Burley Demerrit BDC Univ. of NH Blood Brook BDD Plainfield Plainfield Blood Brook BDU Plainfield Plainfield Back Lake Brook BLD Pittsburg Pittsburg School Back Lake Brook BLU Pittsburg Pittsburg School BRD Dover Dover Middle School Bellamy River BRU Dover Dover Middle School Baker St. Storm Sewer BSW Keene Plymouth State Univ. Bartlett Water Supply BWS Bartlett U.S. Forest Service Clay Brook CBD Plymouth Plymouth State Univ. Clay Brook CBT Plymouth Plymouth State Univ. Clay Brook CBU Plymouth Plymouth State Univ. Cart Creek CCK Plum Island LTER Univ. of NH Creamery Brook CRD Sandwich Sandwich Middle School Creamery Brook CRU Sandwich Sandwich Middle School Cedar Swamp CSP Lamprey River Univ. of NH Douglas Brook DGB Albany U.S. Forest Service Emerson Brook EMB Stark NH Fish and Game Ipswich Dam IDM Plum Island LTER Univ. of NH IRD Jefferson Israel R. Volunteer Advisory Group Israel River IRU Jefferson Israel R. Volunteer Advisory Group Johnson Brook JOB Stark NH Fish and Game MOD Randolph Plymouth State Univ. Moose River MOU Randolph Plymouth State Univ. Mad River MRC Waterville Valley Rey Center Mad River MRL Waterville Valley Rey Center Contocook NEA Henniker New England Coll. Contocook NEB Henniker New England Coll. Contocook NED Henniker New England Coll. Contocook NEU Henniker New England Coll. Otter Brook OBG Peterborough Otter Brook Farm OSS Freedom Green Mtn Conservation Group Pine Bend Brook PBB Livermore U.S. Forest Service Piscataquog PBD New Boston PRLAC Piscataquog PBI Manchester PRLAC Piscataquog PBU New Boston PRLAC Parker Dam PDM Plum Island LTER Univ. of NH Pine River PIN Effingham Green Mtn Conservation Group Alton Stream PME Alton Prospect Mtn High School Alton Stream PMW Alton Prospect Mtn High School PRF Franklin Plymouth State Univ. Piscataquog PRG Goffstown PRLAC Pemigewasset River PRP Plymouth Plymouth State Univ. Perry Stream PSD Pittsburg NH Dept of Environmental Services Perry Stream PSU Pittsburg NH Dept of Environmental Services PWU Weare Trout Unlimited Rand Brook RBH Francestown St. Anselm College RHS Sandwich Plymouth State Sawmill Brook SBK Plum Island LTER Univ. of NH Saddleback SBM Univ. of NH

Newletter from the LoVoTECS Network - Plymouth State University and NH EPSCoR m LoVoTECS T 603-960-4413 B Email Page 3 1 Continued from previous page Site Name Abbreviation Location Sensor Host Organization SCD Errol Dartmouth Coll./NH Fish and Game SCS Errol Dartmouth Coll./NH Fish and Game School House Brook SHB Francestown St. Anselm College Slide Brook SLB Stark NH Fish and Game Belnap Woods SQB Holderness Squam Lakes Association Mill Brook SQM Holderness Squam Lakes Association Swift River SRM Albany U.S. Forest Service Sugar River North SRN Newport Newport School Sugar River South SRS Newport Newport School Swift River SRU Bartlett U.S. Forest Service Whittle Brook WBG Goffstown PRLAC Wednesday Hill Brook WHB Lamprey River Univ. of NH

Data from September by Mark Green When we calculate median water temperature and spe- cific conductivity for sensors in September, the following Data have been piling up as the network grows, and picture appears. We are going to be making such com- so we have been busy doing quality assurance checks and parisons to understand how different rivers and streams developing ways to analyze so much data. We will be compare and why they are different. This is vital to be- sending you summaries of your individual sites and using ing able to understand baseline function of streams in the this newsletter to provide comparisons of sites around State, and then understand human impacts. the State.

BSW

BBW BBD

CRDOBW CRU SRS BBU SRN PBI NEU NED NEB OBG WBG PRG NEA SQB BLD

MOU BLU PMW PIN

PWU IRD SQM MOD OSS SRU BBK MRC PME SLB SRM JOB IRU DGB MRL EMB PBB

20 50 100 200BWS 500 1000 Median Sp. Conductivity ( µ S/cm) 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 Median Water Temperature (°C)

Median water temperature and specific conductance for LoVoTECS sites during September 2012. The three-letter codes are site identifiers. The data identify a general pattern of increasing specific conductance with increasing water temperature. There appear to be three corners to the data cloud: the yellow area is a storm sewer in Keene (as warm and polluted we might see in the flowing waters of NH), the blue area represents outlets from lakes, and the grey area is forested mountain streams. These data are preliminary.

Newletter from the LoVoTECS Network - Plymouth State University and NH EPSCoR m LoVoTECS T 603-960-4413 B Email Page 4