Estimating lake–climate responses from sparse data: An application to high elevation lakes

Christianson, Kyle R.; Johnson, Brett M.; Hooten, Mevin B.; Roberts, James J.

doi:10.1002/lno.11121

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 85 publications

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“…Climate change has many negative consequences on lake ecosystems (Adrian et al, 2009), with lakes warming often at rates steeper than air temperature (Ptak et al, 2018; Richardson, Melles, et al, 2017), and decreasing hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen (Couture et al, 2015; Foley et al, 2012; Rösner et al, 2012). Extreme events can exacerbate these changes (Jennings et al, 2012; Zwart et al, 2017), while hydrology and topography can mitigate some of these aspects, especially in mountain systems (Christianson et al, 2019; Šporka et al, 2006), at least temporarily. For example, ice phenology is strongly dependent on direct solar radiation and less so on air temperature (Novikmec et al, 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ice Cover and Extreme Events Determine Dissolved Oxygen in a Placid Mountain Lake

Flaim

Andreis

Piccolroaz

et al. 2020

Water Resources Research

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A decrease in hypolimnetic dissolved oxygen (DO) is a commonly seen effect of climate change. However, in oligotrophic Lake Tovel (Italy), a deep mountain lake, annual mean DO (% saturation) has increased from near anoxia to >20% in the bottom layer (35-39 m). We analyzed long-term patterns of DO (1937-2019) using different methods (correlation and trend analysis, identification of extreme events) to link DO to drivers and indices of mixing. While spring mixing remained temporally limited, later ice-in (5.1 days decade −1) and the positive relationship between ice-in and DO the following year evidenced autumn mixing as the main driver for hypolimnetic DO increase. Extreme meteorological events also replenished hypolimnetic DO. Using DO and conductivity (1995-2019), we identified 14 deep mixing events with hypolimnetic DO > 40%. Density-based indices (Schmidt stability, relative thermal resistance, Lake Number, and Wedderburn Number) only partially captured these events that were related to snowmelt, flooding, and cold spells during spring and autumn, with a carryover effect sometimes lasting >1 year. Recently, annual mean DO in the upper layer decreased beyond temperature-dependent solubility. This decrease was not comprehensively confirmed by statistical tests but was possibly linked to atmospheric stilling. We suggest that Lake Tovel's shift from meromixis to dimixis was driven by climate warming (i.e., increasing air temperature 0.6°C decade −1) that delayed ice-in and increased autumn mixing. Our work underlines the vulnerability of mountain lakes and their different response to climate change with respect to more studied lowland lakes. Plain Language Summary Dissolved oxygen is fundamental for aquatic life. Lake Tovel (Brenta Dolomites, Italy) has a long history of limnological studies starting in the 1930s; therefore, we can study oxygen's long-term evolution. Contrary to most temperate lakes, dissolved oxygen is increasing in the deep layers of Lake Tovel since the 1990s. We linked this to later ice-in: as a consequence of climate change, Lake Tovel has lost almost 3 weeks of ice cover since the mid-1980s. This loss (5.1 days decade −1) in ice-in is much steeper than in lowland lakes. Because dissolved oxygen is replenished in lakes by mixing, a longer ice-free period means more time to mix, with oxygen reaching deeper layers. Extreme events such as heavy snowmelt, flooding, and cold spells during spring and autumn also increased mixing with effects often lasting over a year. However, in the last decade, we are beginning to see a decrease in dissolved oxygen at the surface, probably because of less wind. Years with little snow also tend to coincide with lower concentrations of dissolved oxygen in the deep layers. Changes in air temperatures, precipitation, and wind will determine the evolution of dissolved oxygen in Lake Tovel, a sentinel mid-altitude lake for climate change.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ice Cover and Extreme Events Determine Dissolved Oxygen in a Placid Mountain Lake

Flaim

Andreis

Piccolroaz

et al. 2020

Water Resources Research

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“…As we seek to predict how the ecological stoichiometry of cryosphere-influenced headwater lakes and streams will change, additional factors must be considered. First, even though atmospheric temperatures are rising more quickly at high elevations than almost anywhere on Earth (Nogués-Bravo et al, 2007), mountain lakes may actually be warming more slowly than those in low elevations (Christianson et al, 2019). The same is likely also true for headwater streams.…”

Section: Climate Change Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Stoichiometry of the Mountain Cryosphere

et al. 2019

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Roughly 10% of the Earth's surface is permanently covered by glaciers and ice sheets and in mountain ecosystems, this proportion of ice cover is often even higher. From an ecological perspective, ice-dominated ecosystems place harsh controls on life including cold temperature, limited nutrient availability, and often prolonged darkness due to snow cover for much of the year. Despite these limitations, glaciers, and perennial snowfields support diverse, primarily microbial communities, though macroinvertebrates and vertebrates are also present. The availability and mass balance of key elements [(carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P)] are known to influence the population dynamics of organisms, and ultimately shape the structure and function of ecosystems worldwide. While considerable attention has been devoted to patterns of biodiversity in mountain cryosphere-influenced ecosystems, the ecological stoichiometry of these habitats has received much less attention. Understanding this emerging research arena is particularly pressing in light of the rapid recession of glaciers and perennial snowfields worldwide. In this review, we synthesize existing knowledge of ecological stoichiometry, nutrient availability, and food webs in the mountain cryosphere (specifically glaciers and perennial snowfields). We use this synthesis to develop more general understanding of nutrient origins, distributions, and trophic interactions in these imperiled ecosystems. We focus our efforts on three major habitats: glacier surfaces (supraglacial), the area beneath glaciers (subglacial), and adjacent downstream habitats (i.e., glacierfed streams and lakes). We compare nutrient availability in these habitats to comparable habitats on continental ice sheets (e.g., Greenland and Antarctica) and show that, in general, nutrient levels are substantially different between the two. We also discuss how ongoing climate warming will alter nutrient and trophic dynamics in mountain glacier-influenced ecosystems. We conclude by highlighting the pressing need for studies to understand spatial and temporal stoichiometric variation in the mountain cryosphere, ideally with direct comparisons to continental ice sheets, before these imperiled habitats vanish completely.

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“…where DD is cumulative degree days, N is the number of days in the simulation, T daily are daily average simulated temperatures, and T base is baseline temperature. We used T base = 4°C because this temperature represents the minimum temperature for growth of salmonids (Piper et al 1982;Wedemeyer 2001;Roberts et al 2017;Christianson et al 2019). The number of days in simulations differed because starting dates varied with snowmelt date.…”

Section: Thermodynamic Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many studies have demonstrated that worldwide lakes are becoming warmer and more strongly stratified (Adrian et al 2009;Kirillin 2010;Schmid, Hunziker, and Wüest 2014;O'Reilly et al 2015;Michelutti et al 2016;Christianson et al 2019;Christianson, Johnson, and Hooten 2020). These changes to lake thermal regimes have important implications for lentic ecosystem structure and function.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the effects of climate change on lakes are ubiquitous, the magnitude of change in lake temperature and ice cover duration varies across regions and lake types (Magnuson et al 2000;Luoto and Nevalainen 2013;O'Reilly et al 2015;Christianson et al 2019). For example, lakes at high elevation are experiencing greater air temperature rise (Pepin et al 2015;Preston et al 2016) and reductions in ice cover duration than their lower elevation counterparts (Thompson et al 2005;Roberts et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Combined effects of early snowmelt and climate warming on mountain lake temperatures and fish energetics

Christianson

Johnson

2020

Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research

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Mountain regions are experiencing some of the highest air temperature increases and ice cover decreases. However, few studies have examined the effects of climate warming and earlier snowmelt on mountain lake thermal characteristics and energetic implications for fish. We assessed potential climate-induced thermal changes and energetic consequences for cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii spp.) and brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in the Southern Rocky Mountains, United States. We found that summer growing degree days increased by an average 21 percent with 2°C air warming and 43 percent with 5°C air warming. But earlier snowmelt increased growing degree days by an average 48 percent. The average maintenance ration with 2°C and 5°C warming increased respectively by 13.8 and 21.9 percent for cutthroat trout and 23.8 and 37.4 percent for brook trout. The average increase in food required with earlier snowmelt was 43.4 percent for cutthroat trout and 52.3 percent for brook trout. Thus, earlier snowmelt can have a greater effect on fish energy requirements than a 5°C rise in air temperatures. Snowmelt recession together with a 5°C air temperature rise could more than double food requirements for fish to maintain constant body weight. If lake productivity increases with these climatic changes, then trout growth could improve; otherwise, energetic demands may result in lower fish growth.

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Estimating lake–climate responses from sparse data: An application to high elevation lakes

Cited by 10 publications

References 85 publications

Ice Cover and Extreme Events Determine Dissolved Oxygen in a Placid Mountain Lake

Ice Cover and Extreme Events Determine Dissolved Oxygen in a Placid Mountain Lake

Ecological Stoichiometry of the Mountain Cryosphere

Combined effects of early snowmelt and climate warming on mountain lake temperatures and fish energetics

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