Man-made climate change is thinning and altering ice on lakes in Alberta and elsewhere, much to the detriment of both wildlife and humans, states a review paper co-authored by a University of Calgary scientist.
Dramatically-accelerating ice loss over the past 25 years means some areas of the Northern Hemisphere have seen a thaw arriving 45 days earlier per century, states the review paper published this week in the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s journal Science.
“Temperatures broadly speaking are warming and it’s resulting in shorter ice duration,” said Dr. David Barrett, a biological scientist at the U of C who collaborated with an international cast of researchers on the project.
“In Alberta, we’re seeing at least a couple of days earlier every few decades, at its minimum.”
The paper also notes that research suggests that of the world’s 1.4 million fresh water lakes, climate change could contribute significantly to 230,400 of those larger than 0.1 km2 seeing some years with no ice cover by 2080.
But the impact of rising temperatures is also impacting the type of ice covering lakes, moving more from sturdier clear, black ice to a whiter, cloudier version, the latter blocking light from penetrating into the water beneath, he said.
“There’s less light for organisms that need light to survive and that has cascading impacts on the ecosystem…we’re starting to see changes in algae species,” said Barrett.
“You need a pretty persistent for that black ice but we’re getting more ups and downs.”
That in turn disrupts the food webs of fish and other organisms, with researchers just in the past winter noticing organisms trapped between layers of ice, structures created by erratic freeze and thaw patterns, he said.
The group’s research notes hastened ice loss lead to more rapid evaporation and degrade water quality, leading to cyanobacteria blooms.
For the past six years, Barrett and colleagues have been conducting research on Sibbald Lake, which sits about 40 minutes west of Calgary in the Kananaskis Country foothills.
Fish-stocking of the lake, he said, has recently been halted after fish die-offs being observed “likely due to oxygen loss…or cloudy-like ice stopping photosynthesis.”
The study notes receding ice cover also contributes to shore lakeshore erosion with warmer watering encourage invasive fish species.
Contributing significantly to knowledge on the health of the province’s water bodies, said Barrett, is the Alberta Lake Management Society.
“There’s not a lot of people doing winter research and the society is very unique in North America in doing sampling and reporting,” he said.
Some of that work has gone into determining how a warming climate also directly affects humans both economically and culturally with impacts on ice roads, wildlife travel and recreation, said Barrett.
“There’s a huge cultural significance on communities whether they’re indigenous or not – it can impact (animal) migration patterns and traditional hunting,” he said.
“There can be implications on safety such as losing your trucks into the lake and ice fishing.”
Accelerated ice loss can even put a damper on hockey played on ponds and lakes, he added.
Scientists say climate change is also dramatically speeding the retreat of Rocky Mountain glaciers whose meltwaters provide crucial water supply backups for downstream communities like Calgary in the late summer and autumn.
For the first time, Calgary imposed water rationing measures in 2023 in response to drought conditions and could continue down that path next year and beyond.
Burning of fossil fuels has also led to longer wildfire seasons and more smoke-filled days for Albertans, say scientists.
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