Lake and River Ice Breaking Up Earlier and Forming Later Since 1931

The Cryosphere, May 10

Over 3000 time series, covering 4 overlapping periods between 1931 and 2005 from 644 sites across the Northern Hemisphere, show that breakup of lake and river ice on average now occurs about 5.5 days earlier; with later formation also occuring, but with a far less clear pattern or association with higher temperatures across all sites. This is because not just temperature, but other factors such as wind can delay lake and ice freezing. Both later ice formation, and earlier break-up have accelerated in the past few decades. The authors stress a need to better study the impacts of more open water days, especially because this might lead to additional releases of methane from such ecosystems.

https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/2211/2021/