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By Harry Newton
A study released yesterday by researchers from Jet Propulsion Laboratory showed that the water temperatures in major lakes around the world are steadily increasing due to the global climate change. The study claimed that earth's major lakes have warmed by an average of 0.81 degrees per decade in the last 25 years. The study showed that some lakes have warmed as much as 1.8 degrees.
The study noted that although the warming was recorded at the global level, the greatest in temperatures were recorded in the mid- to high-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere."Our analysis provides a new, independent data source for assessing the impact of climate change over land around the world," said researcher Philipp Schneider, lead author of the study. The study was published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
"The results have implications for lake ecosystems, which can be adversely affected by even small water temperature changes." The study was based on satellite data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and European Space Agency. The researchers measured surface temperatures of 167 large lakes worldwide. It includes those lakes that were larger than 193 square miles and located away from shorelines.
The largest and most consistent area of warming was in northern Europe, showed the study, while a weaker trend was seen in southeastern Europe around the Black and Caspian seas and Kazakhstan. The warming trend was higher in the southwestern United States than in the Great Lakes region. The study showed that the warming was also weaker in the tropics and in the mid-latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere.
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