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Lake Superior summer water temperatures are increasing more rapidly than regional air temperatures: A positive ice-albedo feedback
Large Lakes Observatory and Department of Physics, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota, USA
Large Lakes Observatory and Department of Geological Sciences, University of Minnesota, Duluth, Minnesota, USA
Lake Superior summer (July–September) surface water temperatures have increased approximately 2.5°C over the interval 1979–2006, equivalent to a rate of (11 ± 6) × 10−2°C yr−1, significantly in excess of regional atmospheric warming. This discrepancy is caused by declining winter ice cover, which is causing the onset of the positively stratified season to occur earlier at a rate of roughly a half day per year. An earlier start of the stratified season significantly increases the period over which the lake warms during the summer months, leading to a stronger trend in mean summer temperatures than would be expected from changes in summer air temperature alone.
Received 7 December 2006; accepted 7 February 2007; published 23 March 2007.
Citation: (2007), Lake Superior summer water temperatures are increasing more rapidly than regional air temperatures: A positive ice-albedo feedback, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L06604, doi:10.1029/2006GL029021.
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