Strong Warming Rates in the Surface and Bottom Layers of a Boreal Lake: Results From Approximately Six Decades of Measurements (1964–2020)

Abstract

Abstract High‐latitude lakes are warming faster than the global average with deep implications for life on Earth. Using an approximately six‐decade long in situ data set, we explored the changes in lake surface‐water temperature (LST), lake deep‐water temperature (LDT), lake depth‐weighted mean water temperature (LDMT), and ice‐free days in Lake Kallavesi, a boreal lake in central Finland, when the lake was stratified (June–August). Our results suggest that the LST is warming faster than the local air temperature (AT). As for the LST, fast warming was also observed in the LDT and LDMT, but at rates slower than those in the LST. The number of ice‐free days also shows an upward trend, with a rate of about 7 days per decade during the study period. The corresponding local AT is the main driver of the LST, followed by the ice‐free days and annual mean AT. Air temperature and ice‐free days also mainly contribute to the changes in the LDMT. The LDT is affected more by the North Atlantic Oscillation signals in this freshwater lake. The AT in the prior months does not affect the LDT in Lake Kallavesi although the AT during the prior season, that is, spring, is the main driver of summer LDT. This highlights the local AT impact on the LDT at time scales longer than a month. The warming rates in the lake water are at a minimum in June because the lake is not yet strongly stratified in this month when compared to July and August. These findings improve our knowledge of long‐term changes in the lake water temperature in a high‐latitude lake, a region with severe environmental consequences due to fast changes in the AT and lake ice phenology.