High-frequency water temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence, wind speed, and photosynthetically active radiation data for 18 globally-distributed lakes 2008 - 2013

Abstract: This dataset was used in the analysis described in the manuscript by Rusak, J. A.J. Tanentzap, J.L. Klug, K. Rose, L.A. Winslow R. Smyth, E. Jennings, D. Pierson, S. Hendricks, A. Laas, E. Ryder, D. White, R. Adrian, L. Arvola, E. de Eyto, H. Feuchtmayr, M. Honti, V. Istanovics, I. Jones, C. McBride, S. Schmidt, G. Zhu. Wind and trophic status explain the temporal and spatial variability of chlorophyll in lakes. In review: Limnology and Oceanography Letters. The variation in chlorophyll fluorescence from 18 globally distributed lakes, was tested at monthly, daily and hourly scales in related to high-frequency measurements of wind, water temperature and radiation within lakes as well as lake productivity and morphometry among lakes. Overall, monthly variation in algal biomass was greater than that expressed at either daily or hourly scales but, combined, these latter time scales were equivalent to seasonal variation. Among lakes, algal biomass variation increased with trophic status while, within-lake variation increased with increasing wind speed variation. Together, our results suggest that predicted changes associated with a changing climate, as well as widespread ongoing cultural eutrophication, have the potential to substantially alter the variability of algal biomass and thus the predictability of the services it provides. This dataset includes the data used in the analysis described above.