GETTY Research shows that ice is breaking upone day earlier each year

Scientists from the University of Southampton, who monitored 13,300 lakes using satellite imagery, have shown that on average ice is breaking up one day earlier per year, based on a 14-year period between 2000 and 2013. Their findings are published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports. The researchers used information on how light is reflected off the lakes, as recorded by Nasa's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor, which collects a range of spectral and thermal data on a daily basis as it circles the globe on two satellites.

The study, published in the Nature journal Scientific Reports, used the changes in reflectance to identify the freezing and thawing processes. Professor Jadu Dash said: "Previous studies have looked into small numbers of lakes to show the impact of changes in temperature on the cyclic nature of lake-ice cover. "However, ours is the first to use time-series of satellite data to monitor thousands of lakes in this way across the Arctic.

GETTY The report was based on a 14-year period between 2000 and 2013

"It contributes to the growing range of observations showing the influence that warmer temperatures are having on the Arctic."

Less ice means a longer season for lake biology Prof Mary Edwards

The researchers discovered that all five study areas in the Arctic (Alaska, Northeast Siberia, Central Siberia, Northeast Canada and Northern Europe) showed significant trends of early ice break-up in the spring, but to varying degrees. Central Siberia demonstrated the strongest trend, with ice starting to break-up an average of 1.4 days earlier each year.

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GETTY researchers used information on how light is reflected off the lakes recorded using MODIS

Northern Europe showed the lowest change of ice break-up at 0.84 days earlier per year The scientists found a strong relationship between decreasing ice cover and an increasingly early spring temperature rise. The team also examined the timing of formation of ice cover on the lakes in late autumn and observations on the ground suggested that freezing was starting later.

GETTY Northern Europe showed the lowest change of ice break-up at 0.84 days earlier per year