Long-term ice phenology records for 78 lakes in the Northern Hemisphere

Lake ice is an important resource supporting water quality, local biodiversity, arctic transportation, and regional economies. Long-term surveys of lake ice collected in situ are the gold standard for monitoring in environmental science., Here, we present ice phenology records for 78 lakes in the Northern Hemisphere spanning up to 578 years. These surveys include 12 different countries across North America and Eurasia collected by researchers, community scientists, priests, and digital observations. This database includes information about ice phenology (ice-on dates, ice-off dates, ice cover duration), lake characteristics (e.g., size, location, names), and meta-data about each data source (e.g., how the data was collected). Our intention is that this database may be used to understand factors driving lake ice patterns and the biological or socio-economic consequences.