That was a good read Moose1am. I wonder if the snow melt around your trees are due to the fact that trees are water. I wonder if heat disapates from the smaller branches down through to the trunk. I have such limited thought and know nothing about much.
Originally Posted by Moose1amToday while looking at the window at the melting snow on the ground I noticed something that I had never really paid much attention to before. The snow at the base of my maple trees and all the other trees was melting faster than the surrounding areas. There was no snow within a 1ft radius of each tree trunk. Both the North and South East and West side of the base of the trees were free of snow. It's only about 45 Deg F outside today but the Sun finally is peaking out from behind the clouds today. I wish I had taken a thermometer out there to measure the temp of the ground at the base of my trees. But I must assume that the area at the base of the trees is WARMER than the Surrounding Earth in my yard. I have read that Submerged trees in the water heat up the water surround the tree when the sun is shining. I have read that the north shoreline heats up faster than the southern shore line in the springtime. I think what I was seeing today was an example of the tree's wood heating up the surrounding area. Everywhere else there is still 5" to 6" of snow on the ground excepit by those trees and my rock or sandstone wall. The sandstone rock wall is heating up faster than the surrounding soil too.
Something to remember when you fish cold water on a nice sunny day. A few degrees difference may bring the fish to that area. No wonder crappie like to hang around wood brush piles. Remember that dark colors absorb heat energy and light colors reflect heat energy away. Think how hot it gets when you car sits out in the sun and has dark or black seats and a black roof vs white seats and a white car?
In the winter time I would suspect that if the crappie are along a steep cliff that they may be shallow up agains the rock wall of that steep cliff.
But how do the crappie at 30ft down know that the shallow water areas are warming up. Do you think that they can see the sunlight and figure out what I just figured out?