---
_id: '12227'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Lake ecosystems, and the organisms that live within them, are vulnerable to
    temperature change1,2,3,4,5, including the increased occurrence of thermal extremes6.
    However, very little is known about lake heatwaves—periods of extreme warm lake
    surface water temperature—and how they may change under global warming. Here we
    use satellite observations and a numerical model to investigate changes in lake
    heatwaves for hundreds of lakes worldwide from 1901 to 2099. We show that lake
    heatwaves will become hotter and longer by the end of the twenty-first century.
    For the high-greenhouse-gas-emission scenario (Representative Concentration Pathway
    (RCP) 8.5), the average intensity of lake heatwaves, defined relative to the historical
    period (1970 to 1999), will increase from 3.7 ± 0.1 to 5.4 ± 0.8 degrees Celsius
    and their average duration will increase dramatically from 7.7 ± 0.4 to 95.5 ±
    35.3 days. In the low-greenhouse-gas-emission RCP 2.6 scenario, heatwave intensity
    and duration will increase to 4.0 ± 0.2 degrees Celsius and 27.0 ± 7.6 days, respectively.
    Surface heatwaves are longer-lasting but less intense in deeper lakes (up to 60
    metres deep) than in shallower lakes during both historic and future periods.
    As lakes warm during the twenty-first century7,8, their heatwaves will begin to
    extend across multiple seasons, with some lakes reaching a permanent heatwave
    state. Lake heatwaves are likely to exacerbate the adverse effects of long-term
    warming in lakes and exert widespread influence on their physical structure and
    chemical properties. Lake heatwaves could alter species composition by pushing
    aquatic species and ecosystems to the limits of their resilience. This in turn
    could threaten lake biodiversity9 and the key ecological and economic benefits
    that lakes provide to society.
author:
- first_name: R. Iestyn
  full_name: Woolway, R. Iestyn
  last_name: Woolway
- first_name: Eleanor
  full_name: Jennings, Eleanor
  last_name: Jennings
- first_name: Tom
  full_name: Shatwell, Tom
  id: '86424'
  last_name: Shatwell
  orcid: 0000-0002-4520-7916
- first_name: Malgorzata
  full_name: Golub, Malgorzata
  last_name: Golub
- first_name: Don C.
  full_name: Pierson, Don C.
  last_name: Pierson
- first_name: Stephen C.
  full_name: Maberly, Stephen C.
  last_name: Maberly
citation:
  ama: 'Woolway RI, Jennings E, Shatwell T, Golub M, Pierson DC, Maberly SC. Lake
    heatwaves under climate change. <i>Nature : the international journal of science</i>.
    2021;589(7842):402-407. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1">10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1</a>'
  apa: 'Woolway, R. I., Jennings, E., Shatwell, T., Golub, M., Pierson, D. C., &#38;
    Maberly, S. C. (2021). Lake heatwaves under climate change. <i>Nature : The International
    Journal of Science</i>, <i>589</i>(7842), 402–407. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1</a>'
  bjps: '<b>Woolway RI <i>et al.</i></b> (2021) Lake Heatwaves under Climate Change.
    <i>Nature : the international journal of science</i> <b>589</b>, 402–407.'
  chicago: 'Woolway, R. Iestyn, Eleanor Jennings, Tom Shatwell, Malgorzata Golub,
    Don C. Pierson, and Stephen C. Maberly. “Lake Heatwaves under Climate Change.”
    <i>Nature : The International Journal of Science</i> 589, no. 7842 (2021): 402–7.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1</a>.'
  chicago-de: 'Woolway, R. Iestyn, Eleanor Jennings, Tom Shatwell, Malgorzata Golub,
    Don C. Pierson und Stephen C. Maberly. 2021. Lake heatwaves under climate change.
    <i>Nature : the international journal of science</i> 589, Nr. 7842: 402–407. doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1">10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1</a>,
    .'
  din1505-2-1: '<span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Woolway, R. Iestyn</span> ;
    <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Jennings, Eleanor</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Shatwell,
    Tom</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Golub, Malgorzata</span> ;
    <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Pierson, Don C.</span> ; <span style="font-variant:small-caps;">Maberly,
    Stephen C.</span>: Lake heatwaves under climate change. In: <i>Nature : the international
    journal of science</i> Bd. 589. London, Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of
    Springer Nature  (2021), Nr. 7842, S. 402–407'
  havard: 'R.I. Woolway, E. Jennings, T. Shatwell, M. Golub, D.C. Pierson, S.C. Maberly,
    Lake heatwaves under climate change, Nature : The International Journal of Science.
    589 (2021) 402–407.'
  ieee: 'R. I. Woolway, E. Jennings, T. Shatwell, M. Golub, D. C. Pierson, and S.
    C. Maberly, “Lake heatwaves under climate change,” <i>Nature : the international
    journal of science</i>, vol. 589, no. 7842, pp. 402–407, 2021, doi: <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1">10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1</a>.'
  mla: 'Woolway, R. Iestyn, et al. “Lake Heatwaves under Climate Change.” <i>Nature :
    The International Journal of Science</i>, vol. 589, no. 7842, 2021, pp. 402–07,
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1">https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1</a>.'
  short: 'R.I. Woolway, E. Jennings, T. Shatwell, M. Golub, D.C. Pierson, S.C. Maberly,
    Nature : The International Journal of Science 589 (2021) 402–407.'
  ufg: '<b>Woolway, R. Iestyn u. a.</b>: Lake heatwaves under climate change, in:
    <i>Nature : the international journal of science</i> 589 (2021), H. 7842,  S.
    402–407.'
  van: 'Woolway RI, Jennings E, Shatwell T, Golub M, Pierson DC, Maberly SC. Lake
    heatwaves under climate change. Nature : the international journal of science.
    2021;589(7842):402–7.'
date_created: 2024-12-08T19:57:44Z
date_updated: 2024-12-11T12:57:18Z
department:
- _id: DEP8022
doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1
extern: '1'
intvolume: '       589'
issue: '7842'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- url: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-03119-1
page: 402-407
place: London
publication: 'Nature : the international journal of science'
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1476-4687
  issn:
  - 0028-0836
publication_status: published
publisher: 'Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature '
quality_controlled: '1'
status: public
title: Lake heatwaves under climate change
type: scientific_journal_article
user_id: '83781'
volume: 589
year: '2021'
...