Diel surface temperature range scales with lake size

Woolway, R. I. et al. (2016) Diel surface temperature range scales with lake size. PLoS ONE, 11(3), e0152466. (doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152466) (PMID:27023200) (PMCID:PMC4811584)

Abstract

Ecological and biogeochemical processes in lakes are strongly dependent upon water temperature. Long-term surface warming of many lakes is unequivocal, but little is known about the comparative magnitude of temperature variation at diel timescales, due to a lack of appropriately resolved data. Here we quantify the pattern and magnitude of diel temperature variability of surface waters using high-frequency data from 100 lakes. We show that the near-surface diel temperature range can be substantial in summer relative to long-term change and, for lakes smaller than 3 km2, increases sharply and predictably with decreasing lake area. Most small lakes included in this study experience average summer diel ranges in their near-surface temperatures of between 4 and 7°C. Large diel temperature fluctuations in the majority of lakes undoubtedly influence their structure, function and role in biogeochemical cycles, but the full implications remain largely unexplored.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Waldron, Professor Susan
• Authors: Woolway, R. I., Jones, I. D., Maberly, S. C., French, J. R., Livingstone, D. M., Monteith, D. T., Simpson, G. L., Thackeray, S. J., Andersen, M. R., Battarbee, R. W., DeGasperi, C. L., Evans, C. D., de Eyto, E., Feuchtmayr, H., Hamilton, D. P., Kernan, M., Krokowski, J., Rimmer, A., Rose, K. C., Rusak, J. A., Ryves, D. B., Scott, D. R., Shilland, E. M., Smyth, R. L., Staehr, P. A., Thomas, R., Waldron, S., and Weyhenmeyer, G. A.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Geographical and Earth Sciences
• Journal Name: PLoS ONE
• Publisher: Public Library of Science
• ISSN: 1932-6203
• ISSN (Online): 1932-6203
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2016 Woolway et al.
• First Published: First published in PLoS ONE 11(3):e0152466
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License