Elsevier

Limnologica

Volume 53, July 2015, Pages 42-49
Limnologica

Changes in ice phenology on polish lakes from 1961 to 2010 related to location and morphometry

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.limno.2015.05.005Get rights and content
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Abstract

Observations of lake ice at the shore, complete ice cover, ice duration, ice thickness and other measures for 18 Polish lakes were collected for the 50 year period (1961–2010). Average ice dates in early winter became later: first appearance of ice along shore 2.3 days decade−1 and complete ice cover 1.2 days decade−1 while complete ice cover disappeared earlier (5.6 days decade−1) as did last ice at the shore (4.3 days decade−1). The duration of ice cover decreased by 5.6 days decade−1 and average ice thickness declined by 6.1 cm decade−1. The magnitude of these values for individual lakes decreased from eastern to western Poland. This geographic gradient is likely related to regional atmospheric circulation because in winter this part of Europe is strongly affected by continental air, an influence that is greater in the east. A multivariate redundancy analysis (RDA), used in order to examine the dependence of ice measures on lake physical properties and location, indicated longitude and altitude as key factors explaining lake ice dynamics such as the disappearance of ice and ice cover, ice cover duration and thickness. Lake volume and average depth influenced mostly the appearance of ice and ice cover.

Keywords

Lake ice
Lake location
Lake morphometry
Ice cover
Multivariate analysis

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