Long-term lake dissolved oxygen and temperature data, 1941-2018

The concentration of oxygen dissolved in water regulates many aspects of aquatic ecosystems, including habitat suitability for biota, greenhouse gas emissions, nutrient cycling, and metal toxicity. However, little is known about how dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations in lakes are changing through time. The solubility of oxygen in water declines with increasing water temperatures, but other temperature-sensitive processes may suppress or amplify trends through time, making long-term observations essential to understanding DO dynamics and trends. This dataset includes measurements of dissolved oxygen and temperature from greater than 400 widely geographically-distributed lakes, as well as a suite of associated measurements in or around many of the lakes, including watershed land use, water clarity, limiting nutrient concentrations, and chlorophyll concentrations. Analysis of these data reveal widespread losses in dissolved oxygen through time in both surface and deep waters.