Ice-Out on Sebago Lake in 2014
May 16, 2014
Photographer: John Stetson
Summary Author: John Stetson
On Sebago Lake, Maine, the first significant open water this year happened during the first week of April (top and bottom photos). Ice-out (when more than 90 percent of the ice melted) occurred on April 16. Open water this year appeared remarkably green. This may have been attributed to a combination of light scattering and the presence of photosynthetic plankton; diatoms can be as green with chlorophyll as leaves on trees. Phytoplankton, dormant for the winter, wells up to the surface toward the sunlight as the days get longer. This begins the warm season food chain on Sebago Lake. Top photo taken on March 31, 2014; bottom photo taken on April 4, 2014.
Photo details: Top - Camera Model: NIKON D700; Lens: AF Fisheye Nikkor 16mm f/2.8D; Focal Length: 16.0mm (35mm equivalent: 16mm); Aperture: f/14.0; Exposure Time: 0.0050 s (1/200); ISO equiv: 200. Bottom - Camera Maker: GoPro; Camera Model: HD2; Focal Length: 2.5mm (35mm equivalent: 16mm); Aperture: f/2.8; Exposure Time: 0.0001 s (1/8147); ISO equiv: 100. Software: Adobe Photoshop CS4 Macintosh.