How Does Lake Erie Mitigate Climate Change in the Lake Erie Grape Belt?

Session: Poster Session

Kara Dobson, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, [email protected]
Michael Campbell, Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, [email protected]
Beaty Lynne, Penn State Erie, The Behredn College, [email protected]
Bryan Hed, Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center, [email protected]

Abstract

 The second largest grape growing region in the United States lies along the Southeastern shore of Lake Erie. The unique microclimate in this area, due to its proximity to the lake, allows for the production of grapes. Climate data dating back to 1948 was found at the Lake Erie Regional Grape Research and Extension Center, which resides in North East, PA. This data contains daily maximum and minimum temperatures, and was analyzed to determine how the climate has changed in this region over the last 70 years. Climate data from other coastal and inland cities was collected from NOAA and analyzed to see how climate change affects regions closer and further from Lake Erie. Our results show that winter is becoming shorter, with the first frost date starting later and the last frost date ending earlier each year. This was true for both coastal and inland cities. Other factors from the North East station including growing degree days, bloom dates, precipitation levels, and Brix levels have been analyzed to determine how the grape growing industry may be affected by the changing climate. Further research is being conducted to compare coastal and inland regions, which should allow us to determine how