Abrupt transformation of west Greenland lakes following compound climate extremes associated with atmospheric rivers.

ABSTRACT: Arctic ecosystems are affected by accelerated warming as well as the intensification of the hydrologic cycle, yet understanding of the impacts of compound climate extremes (e.g., simultaneous extreme heat and rainfall) remains limited, despite their high potential to alter ecosystems. Here, we show that the aquatic ecosystems in historically arid west Greenland have undergone an ecological transformation after a series of atmospheric rivers that simultaneously produced record heat and rainfall hit the region in autumn 2022. We analyzed a unique, long-term lake dataset and found that compound climate extremes pushed Arctic lakes across a tipping point. As terrestrial-aquatic linkages were strengthened, lakes synchronously transformed from "blue" lakes with high transparency and low pelagic

SUBMITTER: Saros JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11789078 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature