The spatiotemporal distribution of water level extreme events in global lakes from 2000 to 2022

Abstract

Global extreme climate events are becoming more frequent or severe, and climate change may have a significant impact on lake systems. However, the understanding of extreme events in lake water levels worldwide is still relatively limited. In this study, we used the water level records of 245 lakes worldwide from altimetry satellite over the past thirty years to quantitatively analyze the extreme water level events of lakes. We labeled these lakes as reservoirs, endorheic lakes, permafrost-fed lakes, etc. Also, we analyzed the spatiotemporal differences of extreme water level events between different types of lakes. Then, we analyzed the relationship between the extreme events of lakes water level, weather variables, and large-scale climate oscillations, so as to understood the factors driving the occurrence of extreme events of lake water level. We have found out that in the past two decades, under the definition of extreme events in this study, the percentage of lakes experienced extreme events of water level exhibits a vibration of approximately ten years, but has not increased as imagined. The spatiotemporal distribution of extreme water level events in different types of lakes varies significantly. It was observed that extreme events in lake water levels are closely related with evaporation and temperature. The implications of this study would be potentially profound, including the forecasting of lake ecology, understanding of the ramifications of climate change, and the facilitation of sustainable water resource management.