Jr. King et al., THE RESPONSE OF THE THERMAL STRATIFICATION OF SOUTH BAY (LAKE-HURON) TO CLIMATIC VARIABILITY, Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences, 54(8), 1997, pp. 1873-1882
The 37-year record (1955-1992) of water temperature profiles and corre
sponding meteorology for South Bay (Lake Huron) provide an extensive e
mpirical data set for the study of climate variability and correspondi
ng alterations in lake thermal structure. Thermoclines became shallowe
r over this period and epilimnetic temperatures increased. Canonical a
nalyses correlated warm May-July air temperatures and high July-August
solar radiation with warmer epilimnia, larger thermal gradients acros
s the thermocline, and shallower thermoclines. Multivariate canonical
scores indicate that these thermal responses have increased in paralle
l with the recent warming trend since the mid-1960s. Anomalous multiva
riate scores correspond to El Nino events, and an extreme low score co
rresponds to the Mount Pinatubo cooling effect of 1992.