Geography and Morphology Affect the Ice Duration Dynamics of Northern Hemisphere Lakes Worldwide

Abstract

AbstractClimate change continues to diminish ice cover duration for Northern Hemisphere lakes. However, the differential loss of lake ice duration for various types of lakes across the globe is not well established. In this study, we used time series of ice duration data (average length = 51 years) for 220 globally distributed Northern Hemisphere lakes to determine how local climate trends, geographical location, and physical properties of lakes affect their ice cover trends. Ice duration dynamics were influenced by surface air temperature trends, lake geography, and morphology. Deeper lakes, located at lower elevations, western longitudes, and lower latitudes, experienced the greatest reductions in ice cover over their time series. These results indicate that despite widespread patterns of warming, the individual features of lakes can determine how rapidly they are losing ice cover and may prove informative for future modeling and conservation efforts.