Climate and Air Quality Research

Park biologist Bill Gawley explaining parts of Acadia's weather station to Acadia Teacher Fellows.

NPS Photo/Mackette Kark

Weather data have been collected daily on or near Mount Desert Island by the National Weather Service since 1893.Measurements include temperature (maximum, minimum, and current), precipitation (duration and amounts), snowfall, snowpack conditions, and notes on state of the weather (cloud, rain, fog, etc.). Wind direction and speed are included for some years. The weather station was first located on downtown Bar Harbor and operated there until roughly 1968, then it moved to the Acadia National Park Visitor Center in Hulls Cove from 1968 to 1981. In 1982 it was moved to and remains at McFarland Hill near Park Headquarters.

• What's in the Air? This accessible and interactive article will give citizen scientists of all ages the basics of air quality research at Acadia and beyond.
• NOAA. Weather observations from the Bar Harbor station 1893-present. https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets/GSOM/locations/ZIP:04609/detail
• NPS. Gaseous pollutant and meteorological data from the McFarland Hill Atmospheric Research Station near Acadia National Park Headquarters 1981-present. https://ard-request.air-resource.com/
• National Atmospheric Deposition Program. Atmospheric deposition (mercury and acid) data 1996-present. http://nadp.slh.wisc.edu/
• IMPROVE. Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (visibility data) 1988-present. http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/Improve/
• Fire Management Program - Weather Observations. 1926-1980. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2172020
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 1975. Climate of Bar Harbor, Maine. Climatography of the United States 1951-1973. Number 20. National Climate Center. Asheville, NC https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Reference/Profile/2178856