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High-Resolution Mapping of Ice Cover Changes in Over 33,000 Lakes Across the North Temperate Zone

Wang, Xinchi ; Feng, Lian ; Gibson, Luke ; Qi, Wei ; Liu, Junguo ; Zheng, Yi ; Tang, Jing LU orcid ; Zeng, Zhenzhong and Zheng, Chunmiao (2021) In Geophysical Research Letters 48(18).
Abstract

More than 50% of global lakes periodically freeze, and their lake ice phenology is sensitive to climate change. However, spatially detailed quantification of the changes in lake ice at the global scale is not available. Here, we map ice cover in >33,000 lakes throughout the North Temperate Zone (23.5°–66.5°N) using 0.55 million Landsat images from 1985 to 2020. Over this period, we found a remarkable reduction in median ice cover occurrence (ICO) (61% to 43%), which was strongly related to warming terrestrial mean surface temperatures (R2 = 0.94, p < 0.05). Lakes in Europe showed the most pronounced ice loss (median ICO decreased from 50% to 24%), and extensive lake ice losses were also detected in the northern US, and... (More)

More than 50% of global lakes periodically freeze, and their lake ice phenology is sensitive to climate change. However, spatially detailed quantification of the changes in lake ice at the global scale is not available. Here, we map ice cover in >33,000 lakes throughout the North Temperate Zone (23.5°–66.5°N) using 0.55 million Landsat images from 1985 to 2020. Over this period, we found a remarkable reduction in median ice cover occurrence (ICO) (61% to 43%), which was strongly related to warming terrestrial mean surface temperatures (R2 = 0.94, p < 0.05). Lakes in Europe showed the most pronounced ice loss (median ICO decreased from 50% to 24%), and extensive lake ice losses were also detected in the northern US, and central and eastern Asia. An overall increase in ice cover was identified from P2 (1999–2006) to P3 (2007–2014) due to regional decreased temperatures associated with the “global warming hiatus.” Thehigh-resolution mapping of lake ice here provides essentialbaseline information whichcan be used to elucidate ice loss-induced environmental and societal impacts.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
climate change, global warming, lake ice, North Temperate Zone, remote sensing
in
Geophysical Research Letters
volume
48
issue
18
article number
e2021GL095614
publisher
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
external identifiers
  • scopus:85115809655
ISSN
0094-8276
DOI
10.1029/2021GL095614
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
d07c9c79-51a2-4fc8-9e74-7e6335269e5f
date added to LUP
2021-10-06 22:15:55
date last changed
2022-04-27 04:32:12
@article{d07c9c79-51a2-4fc8-9e74-7e6335269e5f,
  abstract     = {{<p>More than 50% of global lakes periodically freeze, and their lake ice phenology is sensitive to climate change. However, spatially detailed quantification of the changes in lake ice at the global scale is not available. Here, we map ice cover in &gt;33,000 lakes throughout the North Temperate Zone (23.5°–66.5°N) using 0.55 million Landsat images from 1985 to 2020. Over this period, we found a remarkable reduction in median ice cover occurrence (ICO) (61% to 43%), which was strongly related to warming terrestrial mean surface temperatures (R<sup>2</sup> = 0.94, p &lt; 0.05). Lakes in Europe showed the most pronounced ice loss (median ICO decreased from 50% to 24%), and extensive lake ice losses were also detected in the northern US, and central and eastern Asia. An overall increase in ice cover was identified from P2 (1999–2006) to P3 (2007–2014) due to regional decreased temperatures associated with the “global warming hiatus.” Thehigh-resolution mapping of lake ice here provides essentialbaseline information whichcan be used to elucidate ice loss-induced environmental and societal impacts.</p>}},
  author       = {{Wang, Xinchi and Feng, Lian and Gibson, Luke and Qi, Wei and Liu, Junguo and Zheng, Yi and Tang, Jing and Zeng, Zhenzhong and Zheng, Chunmiao}},
  issn         = {{0094-8276}},
  keywords     = {{climate change; global warming; lake ice; North Temperate Zone; remote sensing}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{09}},
  number       = {{18}},
  publisher    = {{American Geophysical Union (AGU)}},
  series       = {{Geophysical Research Letters}},
  title        = {{High-Resolution Mapping of Ice Cover Changes in Over 33,000 Lakes Across the North Temperate Zone}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2021GL095614}},
  doi          = {{10.1029/2021GL095614}},
  volume       = {{48}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}