This research aimed to identify the impact of local climatic and topographic conditions on the formation and development of the ice cover in high-mountain lakes and the representativeness assessment of periodic point measurements of the ice cover thickness by taking into consideration the role of the avalanches on the icing of the lakes. Field works included measurement of the ice and snow cover thickness of seven lakes situated in the Tatra Mountains (UNESCO biosphere reserve) at the beginning and the end of the 2017/2018 winter season. In addition, morphometric, topographic and daily meteorological data of lakes from local IMGW (Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management) stations and satellite images were used. The obtained results enabled us to quantify the impact of the winter eolian snow accumulation on the variation in ice thickness. This variation was ranging from several centimetres up to about 2 meters and had a tendency to increase during the winter season. The thickest ice covers occurred in the most shaded places in the direct vicinity of rock walls. The obtained results confirm a dominating role of the snow cover in the variation of the ice thickness within individual lakes.

This paper presents the results of a classification of the Tatra lakes based on the duration of their ice cover, altitude, volume, and potential incoming solar radiation (PISR). It is embedded in the context of the impact of current climate change on the mountain environment. A digital elevation model, morphometric data, satellite imagery from the winter seasons of 2015-2017 and the Wrocław taxonomy method were used in the study. It was found that the order of freezing and thawing of the lakes investigated may change from year to year. The relationship between ice cover duration and altitude is clearly weakened by variations in lake volumes, with insolation having a noticeably lesser effect. Determining the duration of ice cover of the lakes over several seasons facilitates identifying the similarities and dissimilarities between them. Five groups of lakes displaying similar characteristics were identified as well as 2 groups of lakes with highly individual characteristics. Based on the data obtained, it can be concluded that the duration of ice cover on the Tatra lakes has been shortening noticeably over the last 100 years. Small high-altitude lakes seem to be most vulnerable to climate change.

Zarys treści. W artykule przedstawiono zarys badań struktury termicznej i pokrywy lodowej jezior w polskich Tatrach w ciągu dwóch ostatnich wieków. Na podstawie wyselekcjonowanego materiału źródłowego prześledzono ewolucję poglądów różnych badaczy. Pozwoliło to na wyodrębnienie 5 okresów badań, o różnym nasileniu i jakości prowadzonych prac. W podsumowaniu artykułu autor stawia kilka pytań związanych z rozszerzeniem zakresu współczesnych badań o inne jeziora znajdujące się na północnych i południowych stokach Tatr, co byłoby korzystne dla analizy już uzyskanych wyników odnoszących się do termiki i zlodzenia wód Morskiego Oka.

This study presents the results of a 5-year monitoring program of ice cover, water temperature, and local meteorological conditions carried out in three reference lakes in the periglacial zone of the Polish Tatra Mountains. On the basis of this information, the relationships between the weighted mean water temperature of each of these lakes and the air temperature, wind speed, precipitation, and ice–snow cover in the summer, spring, and autumn seasons, as well as year-round, were described, and the roles of the morphometry of lakes and the topography of their catchments were determined. It was found that the sensitivity of the lakes to climate warming increased with a decrease in their area/depth and shade, and with an increase in altitude and the share of wind-blown snow in the formation of the ice–snow cover. An increase in the mean annual air temperature does not necessarily translate into the warming of lakes, but, paradoxically, may result in their cooling. The current climate may not be best reflected by the most sensitive lakes, but rather by the largest ones located in the subalpine zone.