Abstract
In 2000 and 2001, miniature thermistors with integrated data loggers were employed to measure lake surface water temperatures (LSWTs) and temperature profiles in high-altitude mountain lakes lying between 1580 and 2145 m a.s.l. on both the Slovak and Polish sides of the Tatra Mountains. This allowed the annual cycle of water temperatures and ice cover in these lakes to be described quantitatively, and their dependence on lake altitude above sea level to be investigated. LSWTs in the Tatra Mountains are found to decrease approximately linearly with increasing altitude from late spring to autumn. LSWT in summer can be modelled well in terms of exponentially smoothed ambient air temperature. Although the timing of ice-off is dependent on altitude, the timing of ice-on is not; the dependence of the duration of ice cover on altitude is therefore wholly due to the altitudinal dependence of the timing of ice-off. The temperature profile measurements allow quantitative characterization of summer and winter stagnation, and spring and autumn turnover.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Barry, R.G. 1992. Mountain weather and climate. 2nd ed. Routledge, London and New York, 402 pp.
Borowiak, D. 2002. Zmiany właściwości termicznych jezior tatrzańskich [Changes in the thermal properties of the Tatra lakes], pp. 89–94. In: Borowiec, W., Kotarba, A., Kownacki, A., Krzan, Z. & Mirek, Z. (eds) Przemiany Úrodowiska Przyrodniczego Tatr, Kraków-Zakopane.
Dale, H.M. & Gillespie, T. 1977. Diurnal fluctuations of temperature near the bottom of shallow water bodies as affected by solar radiation, bottom color and water circulation. Hydrobiologia 55: 87–92.
Edinger, J.E., Duttweiler, D.W. & Geyer, J.C. 1968. The response of water temperatures to meteorological conditions. Water Resour. Res. 4: 1137–1143.
Gregor, V. & Pacl, J. 2005. Hydrology of the Tatra mountain lakes. Acta Hydrologica Slovaca 6: 161–187.
Kettle, H., Thompson, R., Anderson, N.J. & Livingstone, D.M. 2004. Empirical modeling of summer lake surface water temperatures in southwest Greenland. Limnol. Oceanogr. 49: 271–282.
Łajczak, A. 1982. Wahania temperatury przypowierzchniowej warstwy wody w jeziorach tatrzańskich o różnej ekspozycji [Fluctuations in the temperature of the surface water layer in Tatra lakes of different exposure]. Czas. Geogr. 53: 29–44.
Likens, G.E. & Johnson, P.L. 1969. Measurement and analysis of the annual heat budget for the sediment in two Wisconsin lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 14: 115–135.
Lister, G.S., Livingstone, D.M., Ammann, B., Ariztegui, D., Haeberli, W., Lotter, A.F., Ohlendorf, C., Pfister, C., Schwander, J., Schweingruber, F., Stauffer, B. & Sturm, M. 1998. Alpine paleoclimatology, pp. 73–169. In: Cebon, P., Dahinden, U., Davies, H.C., Imboden, D.M. & Jaeger, C.C. (eds) Views from the Alps: regional perspectives on climate change, Chapter 3, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Livingstone, D.M., Jankowski, T. & Lotter, A.F. 2005a. Patterns of deviation from linearity in the relationship between lake surface temperature and altitude above sea level in the Swiss Alps. Verh. Int. Verein. Limnol. 29: 300–305.
Livingstone, D.M. & Lotter, A.F. 1998. The relationship between air and water temperatures in lakes of the Swiss Plateau: a case study with palæolimnological implications. J. Paleolimnol. 19: 181–198.
Livingstone, D.M., Lotter, A.F. & Kettle, H. 2005b. Altitude-dependent differences in the primary physical response of mountain lakes to climatic forcing. Limnol. Oceanogr. 50: 1313–1325.
Livingstone, D.M., Lotter, A.F. & Walker, I.R. 1999. The decrease in summer surface temperature with altitude in Swiss Alpine lakes: a comparison with air temperature lapse rates. Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res. 31: 341–352.
McCombie, A.M. 1959. Some relations between air temperatures and the surface water temperature of lakes. Limnol. Oceanogr. 4: 252–258.
Ostrožlík, M. & Janíčkovičová, L’. 1992–2001. Results of meteorological measurements at the observatories of the Geophysical Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences.
Pacl, J. & Wit-Joźwikowa, K. 1974. 7. Teplota vôd, pp. 181–204. in: Konček, M. (ed.) Klíma Tatier, Veda, Bratislava.
Regier, H.A., Holmes, J.A. & Panly, D. 1990. Influence of temperature changes on aquatic ecosystems: an interpretation of empirical data. Trans. Am. Fish. Soc. 119: 374–389.
Reif, C.B. 1969. Temperature profiles and heat flow in sediments of Nuangola. Proc. Pennsylvania Acad. Sci. 43: 98–100.
Shuter, B.J., Schlesinger, D.A. & Zimmerman, A.P. 1983. Empirical predictors of annual surface water temperature cycles in North American lakes. Can. J. Fish. Aquat. Sci. 40: 1838–1845.
Sweers, H.H. 1976. A nomogram to estimate the heat-exchange coefficient at the air-water interface as a function of wind speed and temperature; a critical survey of some literature. J. Hydrol. 30: 375–401.
Tabony, R.C. 1985. The variation of surface temperature with altitude. Meteorol. Mag. 114: 37–48.
Webb, M.S. 1974. Surface temperatures of Lake Erie. Water Resour. Res. 10: 199–210.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Šporka, F., Livingstone, D.M., Stuchlík, E. et al. Water temperatures and ice cover in lakes of the Tatra Mountains. Biologia 61 (Suppl 18), S77–S90 (2006). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-006-0121-x
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-006-0121-x