Our intrepid Water Reporters help us keep an eye on Casco Bay year round. Many return again and again to a favorite spot along the Bay, reporting on changes they see.
This month, we applaud Sara Biron, Friends of Casco Bay’s Data, Development, and Design Associate, for capturing a series of photos at Spring Point Light during an extreme low tide event (when waters were expected to be more than 15 inches below normal).
“Our office is near Spring Point, so I’ve been taking daily walks by the lighthouse for years,” shares Sara. “This was the lowest tide I’ve ever seen here, so I had to take a photo of it. You could almost walk to the lighthouse on the sand.”
As she got closer to the lighthouse, she was surprised to see shoots of eelgrass growing out of the sand.
“We love that our Water Reporters keep an eye out for eelgrass,” explains Staff Scientist Mike Doan. “Eelgrass is considered a nursery of the sea, where young lobsters, winter flounder, cod, and other species can find a safe home. Eelgrass also improves water quality, reduces shoreline erosion, and removes nitrogen and carbon dioxide from seawater. It’s a crucial habitat here in Casco Bay. Eelgrass is a sub-tidal, submerged aquatic species and only rarely grows at the lower intertidal zone. In other words, it doesn’t usually grow in places that would be completely out of the water at low tide, so Sara’s photo is an uncommon sight.”
Sara works to keep our databases up-to-date, helps with our fundraising efforts, and designs our materials. And she likes using the Water Reporter app on her phone when she strolls along the Bay. “I’m a visual person,” she says. “I like contributing as a Water Reporter because it’s an easy way to capture changes I see around the Bay. I’m not a scientist, but it feels good knowing that taking a quick photo of what I’m seeing can be useful.”
Sara’s photos not only recorded an extremely low tide, but also will help us track this bed of eelgrass.
We’ve been noticing that tides are higher than predicted. . .
While we’re talking about tides, we want to share a follow-up to a previous Post of the Month. Volunteer Ann Wood took a photo of Falmouth Town Landing, remarking that the tide looked much higher than the predicted high of 11.01 feet. Looking back, the verified tide height was 12.11 feet that day, more than a foot higher than predicted.
You can find out why this may be happening by joining us online at noon tomorrow for Sea level, storms, and surges, oh my! How Maine’s coasts can be resilient to climate change.
Casco Baykeeper Ivy Frignoca and special guest, Marine Geologist Peter Slovinsky from Maine Geological Survey, will provide an overview of how Casco Bay’s coast is changing and how we can make it more resilient to climate change. You must register to attend.
