An Introduction to the Community Lake Ice Collaboration: A Long‐Term Lake Ice Phenology Community Science Project Spanning 1000 Lakes and Over 30 Years

Sharma, Sapna; Lopez, Lianna S.; Basu, Aman; Blagrave, Kevin; Bazely, Dawn R.; Bove, Gerald; Stewart, Kenton M.

doi:10.1002/lob.10560

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Lake ice also provides ample recreation opportunities for northern communities. Millions of people attend ice festivals annually, the largest of which is the Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival which attracts more than 18 million visitors and generates $4.4 billion in revenue annually (Hindustani Times, 2018;Sharma et al, 2023). Skating races have occurred for hundreds of years in Europe but became more infrequent over time as ice was lost.…”

Section: Societal and Cultural Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lake Ice From Historical Records to Contemporary Science

Sharma,

Shchapov,

Culpepper

et al. 2024

JGR Biogeosciences

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Lake ice phenology is a critical component of the cryosphere and a sensitive indicator of climate change that has some of the longest records related to climate science. Records commenced for numerous reasons including navigation, hydropower development, and individual curiosity, demonstrating the value of lake ice as a seasonal event of significant importance to a broad swath of peoples and countries. At the same time, lake ice loss has been rapid and widespread with lakes losing ice at an average rate of 17 days per century. In this Perspective, we examine the earliest known records of ice cover and the scientific studies that developed from that practice of record keeping. Studies in lake ice began in the nineteenth Century and have included relationships between climate, biology, and ice cover. Early studies developed some of the foundational principles that limnologists and climate scientists are still exploring, such as the relationship between ice phenology and climate variables, large‐scale climate oscillations, and morphological characteristics, with implications for lake ice physical structure and under‐ice ecosystems in a warming climate. We conclude with an examination of the state of the field and how these centuries‐long lake ice records can continue to inform cutting edge science by validating satellite remote sensing techniques, in addition to modeling approaches and collaborations across disciplines, that can improve our understanding of the loss of lake ice in a warmer world.

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Section: Societal and Cultural Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lake Ice From Historical Records to Contemporary Science

Sharma,

Shchapov,

Culpepper

et al. 2024

JGR Biogeosciences

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“…To date, this project has collected over 52,500 lake ice phenology observations for 1008 lakes and involved 935 monitors over more than 30 yr (Fig. 2; Sharma et al 2023).…”

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confidence: 99%

Establishing a long‐term citizen science project? Lessons learned from the Community Lake Ice Collaboration spanning over 30 yr and 1000 lakes

Lopez

Basu

Blagrave

et al. 2023

Limnol Oceanogr Letters

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Recruiting the public to participate in the scientific process can be invaluable in furthering our understanding of global environmental change. Several long‐term citizen science projects have been active for over a decade, with most involving the public in the data collection phase of the scientific process. Our team has recently inherited a long‐term citizen science project called the Community Lake Ice Collaboration (CLIC). We have benefited from engaging with a community of experienced participants who have collected reliable data for hundreds of lakes across the USA for over 30 yr. Collecting data at this scale would have been logistically and financially challenging without participants volunteering their time and effort. Here, we aim to provide an overview of the lessons we have learned from CLIC and other citizen science projects and develop nine guidelines for establishing and sustaining a long‐term citizen science project.

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