Seasonal overturn and stratification changes drive deep-water warming in one of Earth’s largest lakes
Autor: | Song S. Qian, Steven A. Ruberg, Eric J. Anderson, Kyle Beadle, Nathan Hawley, Stephen A. Constant, Andrew D. Gronewold, Lacey A. Mason, Michael J. McCormick, Craig A. Stow |
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Rok vydání: | 2021 |
Předmět: |
Multidisciplinary
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Science Limnology education General Physics and Astronomy Stratification (water) Climate change General Chemistry 010501 environmental sciences 01 natural sciences Article General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Deep water Environmental sciences Oceanography parasitic diseases Period (geology) Environmental science Ecosystem Subsurface flow Surface water 0105 earth and related environmental sciences |
Zdroj: | Nature Communications, Vol 12, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2021) Nature Communications |
ISSN: | 2041-1723 |
Popis: | Most of Earth’s fresh surface water is consolidated in just a few of its largest lakes, and because of their unique response to environmental conditions, lakes have been identified as climate change sentinels. While the response of lake surface water temperatures to climate change is well documented from satellite and summer in situ measurements, our understanding of how water temperatures in large lakes are responding at depth is limited, as few large lakes have detailed long-term subsurface observations. We present an analysis of three decades of high frequency (3-hourly and hourly) subsurface water temperature data from Lake Michigan. This unique data set reveals that deep water temperatures are rising in the winter and provides precise measurements of the timing of fall overturn, the point of minimum temperature, and the duration of the winter cooling period. Relationships from the data show a shortened winter season results in higher subsurface temperatures and earlier onset of summer stratification. Shifts in the thermal regimes of large lakes will have profound impacts on the ecosystems of the world’s surface freshwater. This study presents hourly data from a thermistor string in Lake Michigan, inspecting its response at depth to surface warming. Based on the data, the study suggests bottom lake temperatures respond to changes in turnover and re-stratification, with the ultimate possibility of the lake shifting from dimictic to monomictic. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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