An analysis of the Lake Surface Water Temperature evolution of the world's largest lakes during the years 2003-2020 using MODIS data (original) (raw)
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Hydrological Processes, 2020
In this study, data from MODIS land surface temperature product level 3 (MOD11A2) were used to investigate the spatiotemporal variation of Eurasian lakes water surface temperature (LWST) from 2001 to 2015, and to examine the most influencing factors of that variation. The temperature of most lakes in the dry climate zone and in the equatorial climatic zone varied from 17 to 31°C and from 23 to 27°C, respectively. LWSTs in the warm temperate and cold climatic zones were in the range of 20 to 27°C and-0.6 and 17°C, respectively. The average daytime LWST in the polar climate zone was-0.71°C in the summer. Lakes in high latitude and in the Tibetan Plateau displayed low LWST, ranging from-11°C to 26°C during the nighttime. Large spatial variations of diurnal temperature difference (DTD) was observed in lakes across Eurasia. However, variations in DTDs were small in lakes located in high latitude and in tropical rainforest regions. The shallow lakes showed a rapid response of LWST to solar and atmospheric forcing, while in the large and deep lakes, that response was sluggish. Results of this study demonstrated the applicability of remote sensing and MODIS LST products to capture the spatial-temporal variability of LWST across continental scales, in particular for the vast wilderness areas and protected environment in high latitude regions of the world. The approach can be used in future studies examining processes and factors controlling large scale variability of LWST.
Estimating surface temperature changes of lakes in the Tibetan Plateau using MODIS LST data
J. Geophys. Res. Atmos., 2014
Temperature changes over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) exhibit a dependence on altitude, as observed from meteorological station data and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperature (LST) data. However, little is known about the changes in water surface temperature (WST) of lakes in the TP under the warming climate conditions over the past few decades. In this study, lake WST was examined using a MODIS/Terra 8 day LST (nighttime) product (MOD11A2) over the period 2001-2012. It was found that 52 lakes included in the analysis of WST exhibited an average rate of change of 0.012 ± 0.033°C/yr. Of these 52 lakes, 31 lakes (60%) displayed a temperature increase with a mean warming rate of 0.055 ± 0.033°C/yr and 21 lakes (40%) displayed a temperature decrease with a mean cooling rate of À0.053 ± 0.038°C/yr. The rates of change in WST for 13 lakes were statistically significant, and these included nine warming and four cooling lakes. Of the 17 lakes with nearby weather stations, nine lakes (53%) showed faster warming than nearby air/land. The warming lakes could be attributed to locally rising air and land surface temperatures as well as other factors such as the decreased lake ice cover. The cooling lakes were mostly located at high elevations (>4200 m), and the trend could have been due to increased cold water discharge to the lakes from accelerated glacier/snow melts. Therefore, both warming and cooling lake temperatures in the TP were possibly the result of increased air temperatures (0.036 ± 0.027°C/yr) under global warming conditions.
Scientific Data, 2015
Global environmental change has influenced lake surface temperatures, a key driver of ecosystem structure and function. Recent studies have suggested significant warming of water temperatures in individual lakes across many different regions around the world. However, the spatial and temporal coherence associated with the magnitude of these trends remains unclear. Thus, a global data set of water temperature is required to understand and synthesize global, long-term trends in surface water temperatures of inland bodies of water. We assembled a database of summer lake surface temperatures for 291 lakes collected in situ and/or by satellites for the period 1985-2009. In addition, corresponding climatic drivers (air temperatures, solar radiation, and cloud cover) and geomorphometric characteristics (latitude, longitude, elevation, lake surface area, maximum depth, mean depth, and volume) that influence lake surface temperatures were compiled for each lake. This unique dataset offers an invaluable baseline perspective on global-scale lake thermal conditions as environmental change continues. Design Type(s) time series design • Observational study Measurement Type(s) temperature Technology Type(s) Thermistor Device Component
Rapid and highly variable warming of lake surface waters around the globe
Geophysical Research Letters, 2015
In this first worldwide synthesis of in situ and satellite-derived lake data, we find that lake summer surface water temperatures rose rapidly (global mean = 0.34°C decade−1) between 1985 and 2009. Our analyses show that surface water warming rates are dependent on combinations of climate and local characteristics, rather than just lake location, leading to the counterintuitive result that regional consistency in lake warming is the exception, rather than the rule. The most rapidly warming lakes are widely geographically distributed, and their warming is associated with interactions among different climatic factors—from seasonally ice-covered lakes in areas where temperature and solar radiation are increasing while cloud cover is diminishing (0.72°C decade−1) to ice-free lakes experiencing increases in air temperature and solar radiation (0.53°C decade−1). The pervasive and rapid warming observed here signals the urgent need to incorporate climate impacts into vulnerability assessments and adaptation efforts for lakes.
Satellite-derived multivariate world-wide lake physical variable timeseries for climate studies
Scientific Data
A consistent dataset of lake surface water temperature, ice cover, water-leaving reflectance, water level and extent is presented. The collection constitutes the Lakes Essential Climate Variable (ECV) for inland waters. The data span combined satellite observations from 1992 to 2020 inclusive and quantifies over 2000 relatively large lakes, which represent a small fraction of the number of lakes worldwide but a significant fraction of global freshwater surface. Visible and near-infrared optical imagery, thermal imagery and microwave radar data from satellites have been exploited. All observations are provided in a common grid at 1/120° latitude-longitude resolution, jointly in daily files. The data/algorithms have been validated against in situ measurements where possible. Consistency analysis between the variables has guided the development of the joint dataset. It is the most complete collection of consistent satellite observations of the Lakes ECV currently available. Lakes are o...
Worldwide lake level trends and responses to background climate variation
Hydrology and Earth System Sciences Discussions
Lakes provide many important benefits to society including drinking water, flood attenuation, nutrition, and recreation. Anthropogenic environmental changes may affect these benefits by altering lake water levels. However, background climate oscillations such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation, and the North Atlantic Oscillation can obscure long-term trends in water levels, creating uncertainty over the strength and ubiquity of anthropogenic effects on lakes. Here we account for the effects of background climate variation and test for long-term (1992-2019) trends in water levels in 117 globally-distributed large lakes using satellite altimetry data. On average, 27% of water level variation in individual lakes was associated with background climate variation. The relative influence of specific axes of background climate variation on water levels varied substantially across and within regions. After removing the effects of background climate variation on water levels, long-term water level trend estimates were lower (+1.0 cm year-1) than calculated from raw water level data (+1.4 cm year-1). However, the trends became more statistically significant in 76% of lakes after removing the effects of background climate variation (the median p-value of trends changed from 0.12 to 0.02). Thus, robust tests for long-term trends in lake water levels which may or may not be anthropogenic will require prior isolation and removal of the effects of background climate variation. Our findings suggest that background climate variation often masks long-term trends in environmental variables, but can be accounted for through more comprehensive statistical analyses.
Phenological changes and driving forces of lake ice in Central Asia from 2002 to 2020
Lake ice phenology is an indicator to the past and present climates which responds to regional and global climate change sensitively. The climate in Central Asia significant changes over the past few decades due to global warming and anthropogenic activity. How ever, there are few studies specially on the lake ice phenology in Central Asia. In this study, lake ice phenology of 53 lakes in Central Asia was extracted using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) daily LST products for the period from 2002 to 2020. The results showed that MODIS-derived lake ice phenology was overall consistent with Landsat-derived and AVHRR-derived lake ice phenology. Generally, lakes in Central Asia start to freeze from October to December. The trend of each lake ice phenology variables showed a strongly regional difference. Lakes distributed along Kunlun Mountains showed an over all delaying trend in all lake ice phenology variables, while lakes located in the south west part of Central...
Global lake thermal regions shift under climate change
Nature Communications
Water temperature is critical for the ecology of lakes. However, the ability to predict its spatial and seasonal variation is constrained by the lack of a thermal classification system. Here we define lake thermal regions using objective analysis of seasonal surface temperature dynamics from satellite observations. Nine lake thermal regions are identified that mapped robustly and largely contiguously globally, even for small lakes. The regions differed from other global patterns, and so provide unique information. Using a lake model forced by 21st century climate projections, we found that 12%, 27% and 66% of lakes will change to a lower latitude thermal region by 2080–2099 for low, medium and high greenhouse gas concentration trajectories (Representative Concentration Pathways 2.6, 6.0 and 8.5) respectively. Under the worst-case scenario, a 79% reduction in the number of lakes in the northernmost thermal region is projected. This thermal region framework can facilitate the global s...