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Indicator Assessment
Past trends
The duration of ice cover in the northern hemisphere has shortened at a mean rate of 12 days per century over the last 150–200 years, resulting from a 5.8 day later ice cover and a 6.5 day earlier ice break-up on average [i].
There are, however, large differences across regions. At the Hungarian section of the River Danube, the date of first ice appearance has shifted 19–29 days later over the 1876–2011 period, while the date of final ice disappearance shifted 18–23 days earlier [ii] (see Figure 1.a). In Lake Kallavesi, eastern Finland the freezing date has shifted 15 days later in 1833–2011, while the breakup date has shifted 12 days earlier in 1822–2011 [iii] (see Figure 1.b).
Projections
One recent study has simulated changes in lake ice cover throughout the Northern Hemisphere (40– 75 °N) based on one global climate model driven by the SRES A2 emission scenario. The results indicate an overall decrease in the duration of lake ice cover of 15–50 days across regions by 2040–2079, compared to the baseline period 1960–1999 [iv]. The ice cover of lakes in regions where the ice season is already short or where ice cover only occurs in cold winters is generally more strongly affected by increasing temperature than that of lakes in colder regions [v]. However, the ecological consequences of reduced ice cover are expected to be lower in areas where ice cover normally is less frequent and ecosystems thereby are adapted to less ice or ice-free conditions.
[i] John J. Magnuson et al., „Historical Trends in Lake and River Ice Cover in the Northern Hemisphere“, Science 289, Nr. 5485 (August 9, 2000): 1743–1746, doi:10.1126/science.289.5485.1743; EEA, Impacts of Europe’s changing climate - 2008 indicator-based assessment. Joint EEA-JRC-WHO report EEA Report (Copenhagen: European Environment Agency, September 29, 2008), http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/eea_report_2008_4.
[ii] Katalin Takács, „Changes in river ice regime of the River Danube“ (Eötvös Loránd University, 2011), ftp://152.66.121.2/Floodrisk/_DC/docs/4_28_kkaatta.pdf.
[iii] SYKE, „Lake ice in Finland - observed trends and future outlooks.“, Finnish Environment Institute, 2011, http://www.environment.fi/default.asp?contentid=373875&lan=EN.
[iv] Y. Dibike et al., „Response of Northern Hemisphere lake-ice cover and lake-water thermal structure patterns to a changing climate“, Hydrological Processes 25 (2011): 2942–2953, doi:10.1002/hyp.8068.
[v] G. A. Weyhenmeyer et al., „Large geographical differences in the sensitivity of ice-covered lakes and rivers in the Northern Hemisphere to temperature changes“, Global Change Biology 17 (2011): 268–275, doi:10.1111/j.1365-2486.2010.02249.x.
Ice cover of rivers and lakes is one of the parameters that determine function of aquatic ecosystems. Preparing for climate change is a major challenge for water management in Europe. Climate change is not explicitly included in the text of the Water Framework Directive. However, water management under the WFD will have to deal with the challenges posed by climate change. The stepwise and cyclical approach of the WFD River Basin Management Plans (RBMPs) process makes it well suited to adaptively manage climate change impacts. In particular, the review of RBMPs every six years establishes a mechanism to prepare for and adapt to climate change.
No targets have been specified.
Trend lines have been added.
Not applicable
No methodology references available.
Not applicable
Time series of lake and river ice cover are available from several lakes and rivers in Europe. It is not currently possible to provide a comprehensive picture of lake and river ice cover in Europe.
Further information on uncertainties is provided in Section 1.7 of the EEA report on Climate change, impacts, and vulnerability in Europe 2012(http://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/climate-impacts-and-vulnerability-2012/)
No uncertainty has been specified
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/lake-and-river-ice-cover-1/assessment or scan the QR code.
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