Date of Award

2024

Document Type

Open Access Master's Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science in Applied Ecology (MS)

Administrative Home Department

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science

Advisor 1

Fengjing Liu

Advisor 2

John S. Gierke

Committee Member 1

David Watkins

Abstract

Accurately predicting stream temperature is vital to protect the environment and its most sensitive aquatic species. Tools for forecasting stream temperature rely on in situ data that affect thermal response of natural water systems. Stream and meteorological data were analyzed from the western Upper Peninsula of Michigan for the 2016-2023 water years to determine which factors affected stream temperatures. Through the application of multivariable linear regression models, our analysis identified air temperature as the primary determinant of stream temperature. However, the air-stream temperature relationship varied significantly over temporal scales, improving with increasing in time averaging. The air-stream temperature relationship was relatively poor for hourly data (R2 = 0.73), slightly improved on a daily basis (R2 = 0.85) and further improved on a 6-day basis (R2 = 0.91). Incorporating solar radiation and specific conductance into the model enhances its predictive accuracy for stream temperatures within our study area.

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