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Dryad

Data from: Hot tops, cold bottoms: synergistic climate warming and shielding effects increase carbon burial in lakes

Data files

Aug 05, 2019 version files 5.58 MB

Abstract

In this article, we challenge the notion that global warming stimulates organic matter min-eralization and increases greenhouse gas emissions in lakes via direct temperature effects. We show that the interactive effects of warming and transparency loss due to eutrophica-tion or browning override effects of atmospheric warming alone. Thermal shielding ena-bles a longer and more stable stratification that results in bottom-water cooling, prolonged anoxia and enhanced carbon preservation in a large proportion of global lakes. These ef-fects are strongest in shallow lakes where an additional burial of 4.5 Tg C y-1 increases current global estimates by 9%. Despite more burial, the net global warming potential of lakes will increase via enhanced methane production, related to prolonged periods of an-oxia, rather than warming. Our understanding of how whole-lake carbon cycling responds to climate change needs revision, as the synergistic influence of warming and transparency loss has much broader ecosystem level functional consequences.