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Rapid and highly variable warming of lake surface waters around the globe
Author(s) -
O'Reilly Catherine M.,
Sharma Sapna,
Gray Derek K.,
Hampton Stephanie E.,
Read Jordan S.,
Rowley Rex J.,
Schneider Philipp,
Lenters John D.,
McIntyre Peter B.,
Kraemer Benjamin M.,
Weyhenmeyer Gesa A.,
Straile Dietmar,
Dong Bo,
Adrian Rita,
Allan Mathew G.,
Anneville Orlane,
Arvola Lauri,
Austin Jay,
Bailey John L.,
Baron Jill S.,
Brookes Justin D.,
Eyto Elvira,
Dokulil Martin T.,
Hamilton David P.,
Havens Karl,
Hetherington Amy L.,
Higgins Scott N.,
Hook Simon,
Izmest'eva Lyubov R.,
Joehnk Klaus D.,
Kangur Kulli,
Kasprzak Peter,
Kumagai Michio,
Kuusisto Esko,
Leshkevich George,
Livingstone David M.,
MacIntyre Sally,
May Linda,
Melack John M.,
MuellerNavarra Doerthe C.,
Naumenko Mikhail,
Noges Peeter,
Noges Tiina,
North Ryan P.,
Plisnier PierreDenis,
Rigosi Anna,
Rimmer Alon,
Rogora Michela,
Rudstam Lars G.,
Rusak James A.,
Salmaso Nico,
Samal Nihar R.,
Schindler Daniel E.,
Schladow S. Geoffrey,
Schmid Martin,
Schmidt Silke R.,
Silow Eugene,
Soylu M. Evren,
Teubner Katrin,
Verburg Piet,
Voutilainen Ari,
Watkinson Andrew,
Williamson Craig E.,
Zhang Guoqing
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1002/2015gl066235
Subject(s) - environmental science , global warming , climate change , climatology , cloud cover , oceanography , geology , cloud computing , computer science , operating system
In this first worldwide synthesis of in situ and satellite‐derived lake data, we find that lake summer surface water temperatures rose rapidly (global mean = 0.34°C decade −1 ) between 1985 and 2009. Our analyses show that surface water warming rates are dependent on combinations of climate and local characteristics, rather than just lake location, leading to the counterintuitive result that regional consistency in lake warming is the exception, rather than the rule. The most rapidly warming lakes are widely geographically distributed, and their warming is associated with interactions among different climatic factors—from seasonally ice‐covered lakes in areas where temperature and solar radiation are increasing while cloud cover is diminishing (0.72°C decade −1 ) to ice‐free lakes experiencing increases in air temperature and solar radiation (0.53°C decade −1 ). The pervasive and rapid warming observed here signals the urgent need to incorporate climate impacts into vulnerability assessments and adaptation efforts for lakes.