Winter is an important season for many limnological processes, which can range from biogeochemical transformations to ecological interactions. Interest in the structure and function of lake ecosystems under ice is on the rise. Although limnologists working at polar latitudes have a long history of winter work, the required knowledge to successfully sample under winter conditions is not widely available and relatively few limnologists receive formal training. In particular, the deployment and operation of equipment in below 0 C temperatures pose considerable logistical and methodological challenges, as do the safety risks of sampling during the icecovered period. Here, we consolidate information on winter lake sampling and describe effective methods to measure physical, chemical, and biological variables in and under ice. We describe variation in snow and ice conditions and discuss implications for sampling logistics and safety. We outline commonly encountered methodological challenges and make recommendations for best practices to maximize safety and efficiency when sampling through ice or deploying instruments in ice-covered lakes. Application of such practices over a broad range of ice-covered lakes will contribute to a better understanding of the factors that regulate lakes during winter and how winter conditions affect the subsequent ice-free period.

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Disentangling the process information contained in a diatom sediment signature is crucial for reliable future predictions based on paleolimnological records. In this study, we combine limnological and paleolimnological monitoring to address the fundamental question: Which environmental information is contained in a diatom sediment signal? We compared annual diatom sequential sediment trap records with the diatom record of the annually varved lake sediment of Nylandssjön (northern Sweden) from three meteorologically different years (2012)(2013)(2014). The seasonal patterns in diatom sedimentation were strikingly different in varve years 2012 and 2014 compared to varve year 2013. In 2012 and 2014, up to 70% of the annual flux occurred in a single spring month and was dominated by Cyclotella glomerata. In contrast, in 2013, peak fluxes were much lower and more annually integrated. Next, we compared the full-year diatom trap results with year round in-lake physical, chemical, and biological monitored parameters, as well as meteorological variables. Annual averages of environmental conditions did not explain the interannual variability in diatom sedimentation. Instead, the seasonality of diatom sedimentation was determined by the timing of the spring diatom bloom relative to lake over-turn in winters with warm vs. cold air temperature. With our combined limnological and paleolimnological monitoring approach, we find that an annual diatom signal can either contain primarily seasonal climate information from a short time period or be annually integrated. We synthesize our results in a novel conceptual model, which describes the response of sediment diatom signals to two distinct sequences of late-winter conditions.

Sediment trap studies and high frequency monitoring are of great importance to develop a deeper understanding of how seasonal environmental processes are imprinted in sediment signal formation. We collected whole year diatom assemblages from 2002 to 2014 with a sequential sediment trap from a varved boreal lake (Nylandssjön, Sweden) together with environmental and limnological parameters, and compared them with the corresponding diatom record of the annual laminated sediment. Our data set indicates a large year-to-year variability of diatom succession and abundance patterns, which is well reflected in the varved sediments. Specifically, Cyclotella glomerata dominated the annual sediment trap record (as well as in the corresponding sediment varves) in years with warmer air temperatures in March/April, and Asterionella formosa dominated the annual sediment assemblages as a consequence of years characterized by higher runoff before lake over-turn. Years succeeding forest clearance in the lake catchment showed marked increase in diatom and sediment flux. The DCA scores of the yearly diatom trap assemblages clearly resemble the lake's thermal structure, which indicates that the relative abundance of major taxa seems primarily controlled by the timing of seasonal environmental events, such as above-average winter air temperature and/or autumn runoff and the current thermal structure of the lake. The high seasonal variability between environmental drivers in combination with the physical limnology leaves us with several possible scenarios leading to either an A. formosa versus C. glomerata dominated annual diatom sediment signal. With this study we highlight that short-term environmental events and seasonal limnological conditions are of major importance for interpreting annual sediment signals.