Ice in Arctic Lakes Getting Thinner with Rising Temperatures

Ice in Northern Alaskan lakes is getting thinner, according to a latest study.

The study was based on 20 years of satellite radar imagery. Researchers found that the changes in temperature and precipitation have affected the thickness of ice on lakes in Alaska.

Thickness of ice affects regional climate and availability of water for residents of Alaska. Also, thinner ice affects organisms living in the region.

For the present study, researchers used radar images from European Space Agency's ERS-1 and -2 satellites.

Researchers found that there has been a 22 percent decrease of 'grounded ice', the layer of ice formed on the lakebed, between 1991 and 2011.

"Prior to starting our analysis, we were expecting to find a decline in ice thickness and grounded ice based on our examination of temperature and precipitation records of the past five decades from the Barrow meteorological station," said Cristina Surdu, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Canada, said in a news release.

"At the end of the analysis, when looking at trend analysis results, we were stunned to observe such a dramatic ice decline during a period of only 20 years," Surdu in a news release.

The study also showed that the thinning of ice increased during the research period, with the ice cover falling to its lowest in 2011.

According to ESA, the satellite images provide a reliable way of observing ice changes in remote, high-altitude areas of the Arctic.

The study is published in the journal The Cryosphere.   

Previous research has shown that thinning of ice cover in the region is accelerating algal growth and might be shifting biodiversity in the region in "unexpected ways."