With their measurements and samples, nearly 3,500 schoolchildren have assisted a research study on lakes and global warming, now published in an academic journal. The results show that water temperatures generally remain low despite the air becoming warmer. This helps to curb the outflow of greenhouse gases.
With their measurements and samples, nearly 3,500 schoolchildren have assisted a research study on lakes and global warming, now published in an academic journal. The results show that water temperatures generally remain low despite the air becoming warmer. This helps to curb the outflow of greenhouse gases.
How often is water warmer than air? Gesa Weyhenmeyer, Professor of Aquatic Biogeochemistry at Uppsala University, asked herself this question when she analysed thousands of measurements. They were taken in late summer and autumn 2016 by compulsory school pupils at senior level (years 7–9) from 66 schools in Sweden.
“The study is an excellent example of how citizen science, or crowd-sourced research, can truly be a win-win situation. The pupils learnt a lot about various scientific subjects, while scientists obtained unique and highly valuable data,” Weyhenmeyer says.
The temperature difference between air and water is an important issue, since it has a major bearing on gas exchange between inland waters (lakes and watercourses) and the atmosphere. Inland waters contain greenhouse gases in abundance and, in one year, release almost as much carbon dioxide as the world’s oceans can absorb. If the water is warmer than the air, emissions of greenhouse gases from inland waters into the atmosphere are boosted; if the water remains cooler than the air, the emission is reduced.
Read more at Uppsala Universitet
Image: The ‘Brown Water’ project has collected water samples and measurements made by nearly 3,500 schoolchildren, contributing to a scientific article on inland lakes and global warming. (Credit: Uppsala Universitet)
