Diminishing ice cover on Maine’s lakes could impact fish populations
With ice-out occurring earlier now than it did decades ago, biologists worry decreasing ice cover and warmer water may lead to a decline in water quality and hurt some fish species.
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This March 31, 2020, aerial photo of Lake Auburn from above Summer Street in Auburn illustrates how the south end is usually the last part of the lake to thaw. Ice-out was called the week after the photo was taken. People who are near the lake around the time of ice-out may hear a “tinkling” sound. As the ice melts, it forms pencil-like crystals arranged vertically through the ice mass. The ice becomes crystallized or “honey combed.” The pencil-like crystals fall against each other like dominoes when the waves of open water nibble at the ice edge, creating that special sound.