The effects of climate change on the world’s oceans are widely reported, but it seems that temperatures are rising faster in the world’s lakes – even faster than both the oceans and the atmosphere, states a new study.
Satellite and ground data was used to measure temperatures in 235 lakes, located over six continents, between 1985 and 2009, writes Christian Science Monitor. The data was collected as part of a comprehensive global study funded by National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Science Foundation.
The researchers found that the globe’s lakes are warming at an average of 0.61 degrees Fahrenheit per decade. This is comparatively more than the world’s ocean surfaces, which are warming at a rate of about 0.13 degrees Fahrenheit per decade. Lakes at higher altitudes are warming even faster than the average – reaching a 1.3 degree Fahrenheit rise per decade, according to a study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Warming lakes are detrimental to the surrounding environment — they can boost the growth of algal blooms, which constrain plant and animal life. They also contribute to rising methane emissions – adding to the greenhouse gas issue. Warming lakes also pose a threat to drinking water sources, hydro-powered energy production, energy production, as well as compromising major food sources for populations across the globe.
Scientists believe there are a number of reasons behind the world’s rising lake temperatures. Increasing global air temperatures is one. Since 1880, Earth’s average surface temperature has warmed by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Most of the temperature increase has occurred during the past 30 years, and appears to be caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions, according to NOAA.
Decreasing cloud cover is also a contributing factor, as clearer skies leads to greater amounts of solar radiation penetrating lakes and exposing them to the suns rays.
Scientists have also observed that lakes in the northern climates are losing their ice cover earlier in spring. This leaves them more susceptible to warming, as the ice would otherwise provide a barrier against atmospheric heating. Without this layer, lake waters are more exposed to warming influences.
Despite these factors, there are ways we can slow the rising temperatures.
“Our climate is changing because humans are adding large amounts of heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere,” the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), a non-profit science advocacy organization, said in a recent report on climate change solutions. “The good news is that practical solutions exist today to address this growing problem.”
The group looked at ways emissions could be reduced from industry, business, homes, landfills and agriculture. They suggested updating electricity efficiency standards, incentivizing the use of clean energy, increasing fuel efficiency standards for cars, addressing methane from livestock, and better soil management to reduce emissions from agriculture.
Perhaps most importantly, however, scientists can prepare ways to cope with the inevitable changes, such as algal blooms and habitat change, that lake warming will affect, adds the group.
“Because some warming is inevitable,” it says, “we must also anticipate and plan for the unavoidable impacts of change through long-term management strategies.”
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