Monitoring phenological changes in lake ice as a robust indicator of regional climate change using the AVHRR
- Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison (United States)
The length of the growing season, effectively defined by the onset or breakup of ice, may be one of the more important ways in which climate change is likely to influence lake environments. In addition, interannual variation in the dates of lake ice formation and breakup has been shown to be an effective climate change indicator. We explored the use of data from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) to discriminate the presence of lake ice during the winter of 1990-1991 on the 45 lakes and reservoirs in Wisconsin with a surface area of greater than 1,000 hectares. Our results suggest both the feasibility of using the AVHRR to determine the date of lake ice breakup as well as the strong correlation (R=[minus]0.87) of the dates so derived with January-March mean local temperatures. These results indicate the inherent promise of utilizing archive satellite to detect the climate expected as a result of greenhouse warming.
- OSTI ID:
- 6206461
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-930798--
- Journal Information:
- Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States), Journal Name: Bulletin of the Ecological Society of America; (United States) Vol. 74:2; ISSN BECLAG; ISSN 0012-9623
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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