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Arctic Warming Thawing Lakes
Scientists say rising temperatures over the past two decades have led to the disappearance of 125 arctic lakes. They attribute the loss to the thawing of the permafrost, a continuous, permanently frozen ground layer that acts as a water barrier beneath lakes. The disappearance of lakes has an impact on migratory birds and may change regional weather patterns.
The researchers tracked changes in more than 10,000 large lakes by comparing satellite imagery from 1972, across 200,000 square miles of Siberian wilderness, with recent satellite data. Their study indicates the decline in total lake numbers have outpaced lake gains further north, where permafrost has warmed but is still intact.
This image accompanied NSF press release, "Arctic Warming May Be a Factor in Demise of Lakes."
Credit: Nicolle Rager Fuller, National Science Foundation
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