Skip to main content

The Impact of the Changing Climate on the Thermal Characteristics of Lakes

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Aquatic Ecology Series ((AQEC,volume 4))

Abstract

Meteorological forcing at the air-water interface is the main determinant of the heat balance of most lakes (Edinger et al., 1968; Sweers, 1976). Year-to-year changes in the weather therefore have a major effect on the thermal characteristics of lakes. However, lakes that differ with respect to their morphometry respond differently to these changes (Gorham, 1964), with deeper lakes integrating the effects of meteorological forcing over longer periods of time. Other important factors that can influence the thermal characteristics of lakes include hydraulic residence time, optical properties and landscape setting (e.g. Salonen et al., 1984; Fee et al., 1996; Livingstone et al., 1999). These factors modify the thermal responses of the lake to meteorological forcing (cf. Magnuson et al., 2004; Blenckner, 2005) and regulate the patterns of spatial coherence (Chapter 17) observed in the different regions (Livingstone, 1993; George et al., 2000; Livingstone and Dokulil, 2001; Järvinen et al., 2002; Blenckner et al., 2004)

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Buying options

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Arvola, L. (1984) Vertical distribution of primary production and the vertical distribution of phytoplankton in two small lakes with different humus concentration in southern Finland, Holarctic Ecology 7, 390-398.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arvola, L., Palomäki, A., Lehtinen, S. and Järvinen, M. (2002) Phytoplankton community structure and biomass in two basins of a boreal lake in relation to local weather and the North Atlantic Oscillation, Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 28, 700–704.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bengtsson, L., Svensson, T., Bengtsson, L. and Killingtveit, A.(1996) Thermal regime of ice covered Swedish lakes, Nordic Hydrology 27, 39–56.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blenckner, T. (2005) A conceptual model of climate related effects on lake ecosystems, Hydrobiologia 533, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blenckner, T., Järvinen, M. and Weyhenmeyer, G. A. (2004) Atmospheric circulation and its impacts on aquatic ecosystems in Scandinavia, Boreal Environment Research 9, 371–380.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowling, L. C. and Salonen, K. (1990) Heat uptake and resistance to mixing in small humic forest lakes in southern Finland, Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 41, 747–757.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen, C. Y. and Folt, C. L. (1996) Consequences of fall warming for zooplankton overwintering success, Limnology and Oceanography 41, 1077–1086.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dokulil, M. T., Jagsch, A., George, D. G., Anneville, O., Jankowski, T., Wahl, B., Lenhart, B., Blenckner, T. and Teubner, K. (2006) Twenty years of spatially coherent deepwater warming in lakes across Europe related to the North Atlantic Oscillation, Limnology and Oceanography 51, 2787–2793.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Edinger, J. E., Duttweiler, D. W. and Geyer, J. C. (1968) The response of water temperature to meteorological conditions, Water Resources Research 4, 1137–1143.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fee, E. J., Hecky, R. E., Kasian, S. E. M. and Cruiskshank, D. R. (1996) Effects of lake size, water clarity, and climatic variability on mixing depths in Canadian Shield lakes, Limnology and Oceanography 41, 912–920.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fritz, S. C. (1996) Paleolimnological records of climate change in North America, Limnology and Oceanography 41, 882–889.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • George, D. G. (2006) Lakes as integrators and amplifiers of the local climate, Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 29, 1966–1970.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, D. G. and Taylor, A. H. (1995) UK lake plankton and the Gulf Stream, Nature 378, 139.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, D. G., Hewitt, D. P., Jennings, E., Allott, N. and McGinnity, P. (2007a) The impact of changes in the weather on the surface temperatures of Lake Windermere (UK) and Lough Feeagh (Ireland), In: J. P. Lobo Ferreira and J. M. P. Viera (eds.), Water in Celtic Countries: Quantity, Quality and Climate Variability, International Association of Hydrological Sciences Publication 310, pp. 86–93.

    Google Scholar 

  • George, D. G., Hurley, M. and Hewitt, D. (2007b) The impact of climate change on the physical characteristics of the larger lakes in the English Lake District, Freshwater Biology 52, 1647–1666.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • George, D. G., Talling, J. F. and Rigg, E. (2000) Factors influencing the temporal coherence of five lakes in the English Lake District, Freshwater Biology 43, 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerten, D. and Adrian, R.(2000) Climate driven changes in spring plankton dynamics and the sensitivity of shallow polymictic lakes to the North Atlantic Oscillation, Limnology and Oceanography 45, 1058–1066.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gorham, E. (1964) Morphometric control of annual heat budgets in temperate lakes, Limnology and Oceanography 9, 525–529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hondzo, M. and Stefan, H. G. (1993) Regional water temperature characteristics of lakes subjected to climate change, Climatic Change 24, 187–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jankowski, T., Livingstone, D. M., Forster, R., Bührer, H. and Niederhauser, P. (2006) Consequences of the 2003 European heatwave for lakes: implications for a warmer world, Limnology and Oceanography 51, 815–819.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Järvinen, M., Rask, M., Ruuhijärvi, J. and Arvola, L. (2002) Temporal coherence in water temperature and chemistry under the ice of boreal lakes (Finland), Water Research 36, 3949–3956.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jasser, I. and Arvola, L. (2003) Potential effects of abiotic factors on the abundance of autotrophic picoplankton in four boreal lakes, Journal of Plankton Research 25, 873–883.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, D. I., George, D. G. and Reynolds, C. S. (2005) Quantifying the effects of phytoplankton on the heat budgets of two large limnetic enclosures, Freshwater Biology 50, 1239–1247.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, R. I. and Arvola, L. (1984) Light penetration and related characteristics in small forest lakes in southern Finland, Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 22, 811–816.

    Google Scholar 

  • Korhonen, J. (2002) Suomen vesistöjen lämpötilaolot 1900-luvulla (Water temperature conditions of lakes and rivers in Finland in the 20th century), Suomen Ymparistö 566, 1–115. (In Finnish.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, D. M. (1993) Temporal structure in the deep-water temperature of four Swiss lakes: a short-term climatic indicator? Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 25, 75–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, D. M. (1997) An example of the simultaneous occurrence of climate-driven “sawtooth” deep-water warming/cooling episodes in several Swiss lakes, Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 26, 822–826.

    Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, D. M. (2003) Impact of secular climate change on the thermal structure of a large temperate central European lake. Climatic Change 57, 205–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, D. M. and Dokulil, M. T. (2001) Eighty years of spatially coherent Austrian lake surface temperatures and their relationship to regional air temperature and the North Atlantic Oscillation, Limnology and Oceanography 47, 1220–1227.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, D. M. and Lotter, A. F. (1998) The relationship between air and water temperatures in lakes of the Swiss Plateau: a case study with paleolimnological implications, Journal of Paleolimnology 19, 181–198.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, D. M., Lotter, A. F. and Walker, I. R. (1999) The decrease in summer surface water temperature with altitude in Swiss Alpine lakes: a comparison with air temperature lapse rates, Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research 31, 341–352.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Livingstone, D. M. and Padisák J. (2007) Large-scale coherence in the response of lake surface-water temperatures to synoptic-scale climate forcing during summer, Limnology and Oceanography 52, 896–902.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnuson, J. J., Benson, B. J. and Kratz, T. K. (2004) Patterns of coherent dynamics within and between lake districts at local to intercontinental scales, Boreal Environment Research 9, 359–369.

    Google Scholar 

  • Magnuson, J. J., Benson, B. J., Lenters, J. D. and Robertson, D. M. (2006) Climate-driven variability and change, In: J. J. Magnuson, T. K. Kratz and B. J. Benson (eds.), Long-term dynamics of lakes in the landscape: long-term ecological research on north temperate lakes, Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK, pp. 123–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nõges, T. (2004) Reflection of the changes of the North Atlantic Oscillation Index and the Gulf Stream Position Index in the hydrology and phytoplankton of Võrtsjärv, a large, shallow lake in Estonia, Boreal Environment Research 9, 401–407.

    Google Scholar 

  • Olin, M. and Ruuhijärvi, J. (eds.) (2005) Kalakuolemien vaikutusten seurantatutkimus 2003–2004 (Monitoring study on the responses of fish kills, 2003–2004), Kala-ja riistaraportteja 361, 1–75. (In Finnish.)

    Google Scholar 

  • Peeters, F., Livingstone, D. M., Goudsmit, G.-H., Kipfer, R. and Forster, R. (2002) Modeling 50 years of historical temperature profiles in a large central European lake, Limnology and Oceanography 47, 186–197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Romare, P., Schindler, D. E., Scheurell, M. D., Scheurell, J. M., Litt, A. H. and Shepherd, J. H. (2005) Variation in spatial and temporal gradients in zooplankton spring development: the effect of climatic factors, Freshwater Biology 50, 1007–1021.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salonen, K., Arvola, L. and Rask, M. (1984) Autumnal and vernal circulation of small forest lakes in Southern Finland, Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 22, 103–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schindler, D. W., Bayley, S. E., Parker, B. R., Beaty, K. G., Cruikshank, D. R., Fee, E. J., Schindler, E. U. and Stainton, M. P. (1996) The effects of climatic warming on the properties of boreal lakes and streams at the Experimental Lakes Area, northwestern Canada, Limnology and Oceanography 41, 1004–1017.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schindler, D. W., Beatty, K. G., Fee, E. J., Cruikshank, D. R., DeBruyn, E. R., Findlay, D. L., Linsey, G. A., Shearer, J. A., Stainton, M. P. and Turner, M. A. (1990) Effects of climatic warming on lakes of the central boreal forest, Science 250, 967–970.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, W. (1928) Über Temperatur- und Stabilitätverhältnisse von Seen. Geografiska Annaler 10, 145–177.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stefan, H. G., Fang, X. and Hondzo, M. (1998) Simulated climate change effects on year-round water temperatures in temperate zone lakes, Climatic Change 40, 547–576.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stefan, H. G., Hondzo, M., Fang, X., Eaton, J. G. and McCormick, J. H. (1996) Simulated long-term temperature and dissolved oxygen characteristics of lakes in the north-central United States and associated fish habitat limits, Limnology and Oceanography 41, 1124–1135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, C. and Tille-Backhaus, R. (1990) Re-occurrence of filamentous planktonic cyanobacteria during permanent artificial destratification, Journal of Plankton Research 12, 661–664.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straile, D. (2000) Meteorological forcing of plankton in large deep continental European lake, Oecologia 122, 44–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Straile, D., Jöhnk, K. and Rossknecht, H. (2003) Complex effects of winter warming on the physico-chemical characteristics of a deep lake, Limnology and Oceanography 48, 1432–1438.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sweers, H. E. (1976) A nomogram to estimate the heat-exchange coefficient at the air-water interface as a function of wind speed and temperature; a critical survey of some literature, Journal of Hydrology 30, 375–401.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tanentzap, A. J., Yan, N. D., Keller, W., Girard, R., Heneberry, J., Gunn, J. M., Hamilton, D. P. and Taylor, P. A. (2008) Cooling lakes while the word warms: effects of forest re-growth and increased dissolved matter on the thermal regime of a temperate, urban lake, Limnology and Oceanography 53, 404–410.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Thackeray, S. J., Jones, I. D. and Maberly, S. C. (2008) Long-term change in the phenology of spring phytoplankton: species-specific responses to nutrient enrichment and climate change, Journal of Ecology 96, 523–535.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tulonen, T., Kankaala, P., Ojala, A. and Arvola, L. (1994) Factors controlling production of phytoplankton and bacteria under ice in a humic, boreal lake, Journal of Plankton Research 16, 1411–1432.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weyhenmeyer, G. A., Blenckner, T. and Pettersson, K. (1999) Changes of the plankton spring outburst related to the North Atlantic Oscillation, Limnology and Oceanography 44, 1788–1992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weyhenmeyer, G. A., Meili, M. and Livingstone, D. M. (2004) Nonlinear temperature response of lake ice breakup, Geophysical Research Letters 31, L07203, doi: 10.1029/2004GL019530.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weyhenmeyer, G. A., Meili, M. and Livingstone, D. M. (2005) Systematic differences in the trend towards earlier ice-out on Swedish lakes long a latitudinal temperature gradient, Verhandlungen der Internationalen Vereinigung für Theoretische und Angewandte Limnologie 29, 257–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Winter, T. C. (2004) The hydrology of lakes, In: P. E. O’Sullivan and C. S. Reynolds (eds.), The Lake Handbook. Vol. 1, Limnology and Limnetic Ecology, Blackwell, Oxford, UK, pp. 61–78.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The CLIME project was supported under contract EVK1-CT-2002-00121 by the Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development (EESD) Programme of the 5th EU Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development. The participation of DML in the CLIME project was made possible by funding from the Swiss Federal Office for Education and Science. The authors acknowledge all individuals and institutes involved in long-term data collection at all sites included in this chapter.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Lauri Arvola .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2009 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Arvola, L. et al. (2009). The Impact of the Changing Climate on the Thermal Characteristics of Lakes. In: George, G. (eds) The Impact of Climate Change on European Lakes. Aquatic Ecology Series, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2945-4_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics