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Lakes as sentinels of climate change
Author(s) -
Adrian Rita,
O'Reilly Catherine M.,
Zagarese Horacio,
Baines Stephen B.,
Hessen Dag O.,
Keller Wendel,
Livingstone David M.,
Sommaruga Ruben,
Straile Dietmar,
Van Donk Ellen,
Weyhenmeyer Gesa A.,
Winder Monika
Publication year - 2009
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 - 10.4319/lo.2009.54.6_part_2.2283
Subject(s) - climate change , environmental science , drainage basin , eutrophication , environmental change , range (aeronautics) , physical geography , ecology , geography , biology , materials science , cartography , nutrient , composite material
While there is a general sense that lakes can act as sentinels of climate change, their efficacy has not been thoroughly analyzed. We identified the key response variables within a lake that act as indicators of the effects of climate change on both the lake and the catchment. These variables reflect a wide range of physical, chemical, and biological responses to climate. However, the efficacy of the different indicators is affected by regional response to climate change, characteristics of the catchment, and lake mixing regimes. Thus, particular indicators or combinations of indicators are more effective for different lake types and geographic regions. The extraction of climate signals can be further complicated by the influence of other environmental changes, such as eutrophication or acidification, and the equivalent reverse phenomena, in addition to other land‐use influences. In many cases, however, confounding factors can be addressed through analytical tools such as detrending or filtering. Lakes are effective sentinels for climate change because they are sensitive to climate, respond rapidly to change, and integrate information about changes in the catchment.