Historical Patterns and Effects of Changes In Adirondack Climates

Abstract

discuss the effects of various interpretive methodologies on the study of regional climate and present new phenological data from the Adirondack region. We find little evidence of major biotic responses to weather trends in recent decades, perhaps because most such trends are still largely obscured by interan-nual variability, but a significant reduction in the duration of ice cover has occurred on local lakes. In addition, an increase of river discharge during the 20th century probably reflects a long-term increase in precipitation, particularly during fall.