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The extent and variability of storm‐induced temperature changes in lakes measured with long‐term and high‐frequency data
Author(s) -
Doubek Jonathan P.,
Anneville Orlane,
Dur Gaël,
Lewandowska Aleksandra M.,
Patil Vijay P.,
Rusak James A.,
Salmaso Nico,
Seltmann Christian Torsten,
Straile Dietmar,
UrrutiaCordero Pablo,
Venail Patrick,
Adrian Rita,
Alfonso María B.,
DeGasperi Curtis L.,
Eyto Elvira,
Feuchtmayr Heidrun,
Gaiser Evelyn E.,
Girdner Scott F.,
Graham Jennifer L.,
Grossart HansPeter,
Hejzlar Josef,
Jacquet Stéphan,
Kirillin Georgiy,
Llames María E.,
Matsuzaki ShinIchiro S.,
Nodine Emily R.,
Piccolo Maria Cintia,
Pierson Don C.,
Rimmer Alon,
Rudstam Lars G.,
Sadro Steven,
Swain Hilary M.,
Thackeray Stephen J.,
Thiery Wim,
Verburg Piet,
Zohary Tamar,
Stockwell Jason D.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.1002/lno.11739
Subject(s) - storm , environmental science , hypolimnion , precipitation , wind speed , epilimnion , atmospheric sciences , watershed , climate change , climatology , hydrology (agriculture) , geology , eutrophication , oceanography , meteorology , ecology , geography , nutrient , geotechnical engineering , machine learning , computer science , biology
The intensity and frequency of storms are projected to increase in many regions of the world because of climate change. Storms can alter environmental conditions in many ecosystems. In lakes and reservoirs, storms can reduce epilimnetic temperatures from wind‐induced mixing with colder hypolimnetic waters, direct precipitation to the lake's surface, and watershed runoff. We analyzed 18 long‐term and high‐frequency lake datasets from 11 countries to assess the magnitude of wind‐ vs. rainstorm‐induced changes in epilimnetic temperature. We found small day‐to‐day epilimnetic temperature decreases in response to strong wind and heavy rain during stratified conditions. Day‐to‐day epilimnetic temperature decreased, on average, by 0.28°C during the strongest windstorms (storm mean daily wind speed among lakes: 6.7 ± 2.7 m s −1 , 1 SD) and by 0.15°C after the heaviest rainstorms (storm mean daily rainfall: 21.3 ± 9.0 mm). The largest decreases in epilimnetic temperature were observed ≥2 d after sustained strong wind or heavy rain (top 5 th percentile of wind and rain events for each lake) in shallow and medium‐depth lakes. The smallest decreases occurred in deep lakes. Epilimnetic temperature change from windstorms, but not rainstorms, was negatively correlated with maximum lake depth. However, even the largest storm‐induced mean epilimnetic temperature decreases were typically <2°C. Day‐to‐day temperature change, in the absence of storms, often exceeded storm‐induced temperature changes. Because storm‐induced temperature changes to lake surface waters were minimal, changes in other limnological variables (e.g., nutrient concentrations or light) from storms may have larger impacts on biological communities than temperature changes.