Three decades of limnological data from lakes in the Pocono Mountains region, Pennsylvania USA, 1988-2023

Three decades of limnological data have been collected from Lakes Lacawac, Giles, and Waynewood, located in the Pocono Mountains region of Pennsylvania, USA as a part of this ongoing data set. Giles is a clear-water, low dissolved organic matter oligotrophic lake in a largely protected watershed, Lacawac has higher dissolved organic matter concentrations and is a dystrophic brown-water system in a highly protected watershed within the Lacawac Sanctuary and Biological Field Station, and Waynewood is a more productive, eutrophic lake, with a larger watershed that is mixed agricultural, forested, and residential use. One unique aspect of these data is that they comprise one of the largest and most complete data sets with measurements of underwater UV transparency available in the world. The data include a suite of 48 variables including biological (zooplankton), physical, optical, and chemical characteristics of the lakes, with a focus on the optical characteristics. Data were collected on many of these variables at least once annually during the summer, often with much more frequent samples during the ice-free season, and for several years in the early 1990s through the winter months. The following four files contain this data set, with the main data contained in PoconosLakeData.csv and PoconosZoopData.csv. SiteInformation.csv and Methods.csv support the main data files, with descriptions of the sampling sites and methods by which samples were processed, respectively. Also included are summary reports that provide an overview and characterize the three core PCLP (Pocono Comparative Lakes Program) lakes from 1989-1993. The user is referred in particular to the 1995 summary report on all three lakes as a useful introduction to the three lakes. These files can be accessed through links provided under Journal Citations. These reports provide an overview of the lakes and detailed methodology. The 1995 summary report "Limnology of Lakes Lacawac, Giles, and Waynewood 1989-93