14 DAY TRIAL // A recent analysis of more than 20 years of radar satellite data has revealed that the amount of ice which forms on lakes in high-latitude environments, such as Alaska, is gradually declining. This trend is believed to be caused by global warming, and scientists say that it will most likely continue for the coming years.
The investigation also reveals that this lake ice decline is a direct consequence of climate change, and reflects a myriad other small shifts occurring in various habitats and ecosystems around the world. Scientists estimate that air temperature changes and snowfall pattern shifts are largely responsible for this effect.
The decline in lake ice volume and extent is just one aspect of the changes taking place in high-latitude environments around the world. In Alaska, both the timing of when ice begins forming and the time the ice sheets endure are changing as well, the European Space Agency reports.
The new investigation is detailed in the latest issue of the journal The Cryosphere. The data used for this research were collected using advanced radar instruments aboard the ESA ERS-1 and -2 satellites. The upcoming Sentinel-1 satellite, part of the ESA Copernicus program, will continue these studies.