Thermal profiles in ponds and shallow lakes during summer to winter shoulder season

Autumn is an important transition time for freshwater ecosystems where many lakes turnover, going from thermally stratified to mixed in a short time. Ponds are more globally abundant than lakes, yet, the seasonal transition of ponds is poorly understood. To evaluate the mixing regimes of ponds, we examined summer into autumn thermal dynamics in 37 ponds and shallow lakes across temperate North America and Europe. This dataset provides a time series dataset of water temperatures across the water column along with characteristics of each study waterbody, including some physical, chemical, and biological parameters. Data from four waterbodies (Eddy, Tumbledown, Cranberry, Horns) have more extensive datasets published in Gavin et al. (2025). Gavin, A.L., J.E. Saros, R. Hovel, S. Birkel, S. Nelson, W.H. McDowell, and J. Daly. 2025. Sub-Alpine Lake (>600 m) High-Frequency Water Temperature, DOC (2007-2021), and Weather Station (Fall 2023) Dataset, Maine, USA. ver 1. Environmental Data Initiative. https://doi.org/10.6073/pasta/6c6286abeccc90448af0f73251843407 (Accessed 2025-09-16).