The hydrologic regime of perched lakes in the Mackenzie delta: Potential responses to climate change
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| Authors: | Marsh, P; Lesack, LFW |
| Year: | 1996 |
| Journal: | Limnology and Oceanography 41: 849-856 |
| Title: | The hydrologic regime of perched lakes in the Mackenzie delta: Potential responses to climate change |
| Abstract: | To illustrate potential impacts of climate change on perched or high-closure lakes in the Mackenzie Delta, we developed and tested a simulation model. Comparison of model output with measured lake level demonstrates that the model simulates the major features of the annual hydrologic regime of high-closure delta lakes. To demonstrate potential changes in lake regime, we used a 12-yr empirical data set of temperature, solar radiation, precipitation, and main-channel water level for the model runs, with the temperature and precipitation modified using results from a 2xCO(2) GCM (general circulation model) run. With these data, modeled water levels for a high-closure lake decline more rapidly between episodes of flooding, ice covers are thinner, and the ice-covered season is much shorter than at present. If precipitation were to decrease slightly instead of increasing slightly as suggested by the GCM, the decrease in lake level between flooding episodes is much faster, and a typical high-closure lake would disappear within 10 yr. |
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