This mapping project was supported by a grant from the Margaret E. Burnham Charitable Trust. The maps below offer a visual representation of various projects Mitchell Center researchers are currently involved with. Additional maps will be added as they become available.

Many researchers collaborated to provide the data used in these maps. GIS data layers from the Maine Office of GIS, the National Park Service, the Maine DHS-Drinking Water Program, and the Mitchell Center were used. Please read the license agreement provided by the Maine Office of GIS regarding data distribution and publication. You may contact UMGMC@maine.edu with any comments, concerns, or issues regarding use of the data.
 

Maps showing locations of Public Water Supplies affected by drought in 2001-2002

Map showing surface water systems
Map showing public wells

“Affected’ is a subjective definition based on a manager’s perception that the public water system had problems during the drought.  Few systems had any problems with water quality; the greatest effects of the drought were on water quantity.

Data from the Maine Department of Human Services, Drinking Water Program; Maine Office of GIS; and Mitchell Center.

*Read more about Drought and Public Water Supplies

Catherine Schmitt, Sarah Nelson  
 

Maps showing sites and data for acid rain research in Maine

Map showing locations of High Elevation Lake Monitoring (HELM) and Regionalized Long-Term Lake monitoring (RLTM) research sites in Maine

Map showing graphs of acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) in the 1980s and 2000/01 
There is no apparent pattern of ‘recovery’ from acidification despite large, statewide declines in sulfate (SO₄) in the same lakes (see map below). 

Map showing graphs of the decline in sulfate (SO₄₎ in the 1980s and 2000/01
The decline in sulfate was triggered by cuts in sulfur emissions required by the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and implemented in 1995. 

Data from the Maine Office of GIS and the Mitchell Center.

*Read more about Acid Rain Research and the Clean Air Act

Sarah Nelson, Steve Kahl
 

Map showing locations of study lakes in Acadia National Park, Maine

Acadia’s lakes show declines in sulfate (SO₄) since the 1980s, but are at the low end of the range of decline in the region. Acadia receives sizeable inputs of base cations, which may neutralize acidity in forested catchments, but still shows little recovery from acidification.  Factors which may confound recovery such as climate, a lag-time response, or continued nitrogen deposition are being considered in current research. 

Data courtesy of the National Park Service at Acadia National Park; Mitchell Center; and Maine office of GIS.

*Read more about Research at Acadia National Park

Steve Kahl, Sarah Nelson