Hydrology and Land Surface Studies

Satellite observations indicate rapid warming trend for lakes in California and Nevada

  1. P. Schneider1,
  2. S. J. Hook1,
  3. R. G. Radocinski1,
  4. G. K. Corlett2,
  5. G. C. Hulley1,
  6. S. G. Schladow3,
  7. T. E. Steissberg3

Article first published online: 25 NOV 2009

DOI: 10.1029/2009GL040846

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Additional Information

How to Cite

Schneider, P., S. J. Hook, R. G. Radocinski, G. K. Corlett, G. C. Hulley, S. G. Schladow, and T. E. Steissberg (2009), Satellite observations indicate rapid warming trend for lakes in California and Nevada, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L22402, doi:10.1029/2009GL040846.

Author Information

  1. 1

    NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California, USA

  2. 2

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK

  3. 3

    Tahoe Environmental Research Center, University of California, Davis, California, USA

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 25 NOV 2009
  2. Article first published online: 25 NOV 2009
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 26 OCT 2009
  4. Manuscript Revised: 21 OCT 2009
  5. Manuscript Received: 10 SEP 2009

SEARCH

SEARCH BY CITATION

ARTICLE TOOLS

View Full Article with Supporting Information (HTML) Get PDF (331K)

Keywords:

  • remote sensing;
  • lakes;
  • climate change

[1] Large lake temperatures are excellent indicators of climate change; however, their usefulness is limited by the paucity of in situ measurements and lack of long-term data records. Thermal infrared satellite imagery has the potential to provide frequent and accurate retrievals of lake surface temperatures spanning several decades on a global scale. Analysis of seventeen years of data from the Along-Track Scanning Radiometer series of sensors and data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer shows that six lakes situated in California and Nevada have exhibited average summer nighttime warming trends of 0.11 ± 0.02°C yr−1 (p < 0.002) since 1992. A comparison with air temperature observations suggests that the lake surface temperature is warming approximately twice as fast as the average minimum surface air temperature.

View Full Article with Supporting Information (HTML) Get PDF (331K)