Heterogeneous changes in the surface area of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of southwestern Greenland between 1995 and 2017
Global climate change has increased temperatures and precipitation in the Arctic throughout the past thirty years. Lakes across the Arctic have demonstrated spatially and temporally variable trends in size and number because of these climate changes. Modifications in the hydrological budget and surf...
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Taylor & Francis Group
2018
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1487744 https://doaj.org/article/9f7352376d614030914918c9bb05bc3d |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9f7352376d614030914918c9bb05bc3d 2023-05-15T14:14:29+02:00 Heterogeneous changes in the surface area of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of southwestern Greenland between 1995 and 2017 A. C. Law A. Nobajas R. Sangonzalo 2018-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1487744 https://doaj.org/article/9f7352376d614030914918c9bb05bc3d EN eng Taylor & Francis Group http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1487744 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2018.1487744 https://doaj.org/article/9f7352376d614030914918c9bb05bc3d Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) greenland lakes climate change permafrost landsat Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1487744 2022-12-31T09:47:16Z Global climate change has increased temperatures and precipitation in the Arctic throughout the past thirty years. Lakes across the Arctic have demonstrated spatially and temporally variable trends in size and number because of these climate changes. Modifications in the hydrological budget and surface hydrology of Arctic regions have important implications for aquatic ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. Since 1960 the ice-free region of southwestern Greenland (between Sisimiut, Kangerlussuaq, and the ice margin) has experienced temperature increases, while precipitation has risen at the coast at Sisimiut and has fallen inland at Kangerlussuaq. However, it remains unknown whether the lakes in this region have responded to these temperature and precipitation changes. Therefore, the surface area of 186 lakes was calculated from Landsat imagery for 1995, 2002, 2015, 2016, and 2017 to establish whether lakes in this region have changed in size during a twenty-two-year period. Lake surface area decreased by 855,449 m2 between 1995 and 2017. The greatest lake surface area changes occurred between 2002 and 2015, with large variations also between 2015 and 2016. Lakes close to Kangerlussuaq (area 1) demonstrated the greatest loss in lake surface area (−1.40 km2). It is proposed that this trend reflects high evaporation totals as a result of increasing temperatures and longer ice-free periods in this area. Lakes close to Sisimiut at the coast (area 2) exhibit a net increase in lake surface area, which could reflect the increase in precipitation experienced in this area during the study period. However, not all lakes in the study areas responded in a uniform manner. These heterogeneous changes in lake surface area may reflect how changes in regional climate are interacting with catchment geomorphology, and highlight the importance of individual catchment and lake characteristics in determining lake response to climatic change in this region. Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Kangerlussuaq permafrost Sisimiut Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Arctic Greenland Kangerlussuaq ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) Sisimiut ENVELOPE(-53.674,-53.674,66.939,66.939) Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research 50 1 S100027 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
greenland lakes climate change permafrost landsat Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
spellingShingle |
greenland lakes climate change permafrost landsat Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 A. C. Law A. Nobajas R. Sangonzalo Heterogeneous changes in the surface area of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of southwestern Greenland between 1995 and 2017 |
topic_facet |
greenland lakes climate change permafrost landsat Environmental sciences GE1-350 Ecology QH540-549.5 |
description |
Global climate change has increased temperatures and precipitation in the Arctic throughout the past thirty years. Lakes across the Arctic have demonstrated spatially and temporally variable trends in size and number because of these climate changes. Modifications in the hydrological budget and surface hydrology of Arctic regions have important implications for aquatic ecosystems and biogeochemical cycles. Since 1960 the ice-free region of southwestern Greenland (between Sisimiut, Kangerlussuaq, and the ice margin) has experienced temperature increases, while precipitation has risen at the coast at Sisimiut and has fallen inland at Kangerlussuaq. However, it remains unknown whether the lakes in this region have responded to these temperature and precipitation changes. Therefore, the surface area of 186 lakes was calculated from Landsat imagery for 1995, 2002, 2015, 2016, and 2017 to establish whether lakes in this region have changed in size during a twenty-two-year period. Lake surface area decreased by 855,449 m2 between 1995 and 2017. The greatest lake surface area changes occurred between 2002 and 2015, with large variations also between 2015 and 2016. Lakes close to Kangerlussuaq (area 1) demonstrated the greatest loss in lake surface area (−1.40 km2). It is proposed that this trend reflects high evaporation totals as a result of increasing temperatures and longer ice-free periods in this area. Lakes close to Sisimiut at the coast (area 2) exhibit a net increase in lake surface area, which could reflect the increase in precipitation experienced in this area during the study period. However, not all lakes in the study areas responded in a uniform manner. These heterogeneous changes in lake surface area may reflect how changes in regional climate are interacting with catchment geomorphology, and highlight the importance of individual catchment and lake characteristics in determining lake response to climatic change in this region. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
A. C. Law A. Nobajas R. Sangonzalo |
author_facet |
A. C. Law A. Nobajas R. Sangonzalo |
author_sort |
A. C. Law |
title |
Heterogeneous changes in the surface area of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of southwestern Greenland between 1995 and 2017 |
title_short |
Heterogeneous changes in the surface area of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of southwestern Greenland between 1995 and 2017 |
title_full |
Heterogeneous changes in the surface area of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of southwestern Greenland between 1995 and 2017 |
title_fullStr |
Heterogeneous changes in the surface area of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of southwestern Greenland between 1995 and 2017 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Heterogeneous changes in the surface area of lakes in the Kangerlussuaq area of southwestern Greenland between 1995 and 2017 |
title_sort |
heterogeneous changes in the surface area of lakes in the kangerlussuaq area of southwestern greenland between 1995 and 2017 |
publisher |
Taylor & Francis Group |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1487744 https://doaj.org/article/9f7352376d614030914918c9bb05bc3d |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-55.633,-55.633,72.633,72.633) ENVELOPE(-53.674,-53.674,66.939,66.939) |
geographic |
Arctic Greenland Kangerlussuaq Sisimiut |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Greenland Kangerlussuaq Sisimiut |
genre |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Kangerlussuaq permafrost Sisimiut |
genre_facet |
Antarctic and Alpine Research Arctic Arctic Climate change Greenland Ice Kangerlussuaq permafrost Sisimiut |
op_source |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research, Vol 50, Iss 1 (2018) |
op_relation |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1487744 https://doaj.org/toc/1523-0430 https://doaj.org/toc/1938-4246 1523-0430 1938-4246 doi:10.1080/15230430.2018.1487744 https://doaj.org/article/9f7352376d614030914918c9bb05bc3d |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1080/15230430.2018.1487744 |
container_title |
Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research |
container_volume |
50 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
S100027 |
_version_ |
1766286919177601024 |