Northern Hemisphere atmospheric stilling accelerates lake thermal responses to a warming world

Woolway, R. I. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0498-7968, Merchant, C. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4687-9850, Van Den Hoek, J., Azorin-Molina, C., Noges, P., Laas, A., Mackay, E. B. and Jones, I. D. (2019) Northern Hemisphere atmospheric stilling accelerates lake thermal responses to a warming world. Geophysical Research Letters, 46 (21). pp. 11983-11992. ISSN 0094-8276 doi: 10.1029/2019GL082752

Abstract/Summary

Climate change, in particular the increase in air temperature, has been shown to influence lake thermal dynamics, with climatic warming resulting in higher surface temperatures, stronger stratification, and altered mixing regimes. Less-studied is the influence on lake thermal dynamics of atmospheric stilling, the decrease in near-surface wind speed observed in recent decades. Here we use a lake model to assess the influence of atmospheric stilling, on lake thermal dynamics across the Northern Hemisphere. From 1980-2016, lake thermal responses to warming have accelerated as a result of atmospheric stilling. Lake surface temperatures and thermal stability have changed at respective rates of 0.33 and 0.38°C decade-1, with atmospheric stilling contributing 15 and 27% of the calculated changes, respectively. Atmospheric stilling also resulted in a lengthening of stratification, contributing 23% of the calculated changes. Our results demonstrate that atmospheric stilling has influenced lake thermal responses to warming.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/86051
Identification Number/DOI	10.1029/2019GL082752
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > National Centre for Earth Observation (NCEO) Science > School of Mathematical, Physical and Computational Sciences > Department of Meteorology
Publisher	American Geophysical Union
Download/View statistics	View download statistics for this item