NASA researchers have determined that for the past 25 years, Earth’s largest lakes have warmed up due to climate change. Some lakes have warmed up by as much as as 4°F (2.2°C). In some cases that is seven times faster than the air temperatures which have risen over the same period.

It’s an important find, scientists say, because lake ecology can be extremely temperature-sensitive.

“A small change in temperature can have quite a dramatic effect,”

says study author Simon Hook, a geologist and remote sensing expert at NASA‘s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California.

Image credit: NASA-JPL

To get a realistic understanding of the effects of lake warming, look up these articles:

1. Unprecedented Warming in Lake Tanganyika and its impact on humanity.

2. 50 Arctic Lakes Show Dramatic Effects Of Climate Warming; ‘Bellwether’ Of What’s To Come Farther South, Say Queen’s Researchers

3. Lake Superior water warms faster than usual

4. Lake Baikal Warming ID’d by One Family Tradition

5. Climate Change Impact on Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes & Rivers

6. Global Warming Burning Lakes?

About these ads