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Indicator Specification
The appearance of ice on lakes and rivers requires prolonged periods with air temperatures below 0 ⁰C. The deeper the lake, the more cold is needed to cool down the lake so that ice forms. Higher temperatures will affect the duration of ice cover, the freezing and thawing dates and the thickness of the ice cover.
Lake ice reduces underwater light and vertical mixing, that is, the exchange of water from different depth layers. The existence of lake ice, and the timing of lake ice break-up, is thus of critical ecological importance, influencing for instance the production and biodiversity of phytoplankton and the occurrence of winter fish kills.
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
Work specified here requires to be completed within 1 year from now.
Work specified here will require more than 1 year (from now) to be completed.
For references, please go to https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/indicators/lake-and-river-ice-cover-1 or scan the QR code.
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