Deep and Frozen: High-Mountain Lakes as Sentinels of Regional Limnology and Global Environmental Changes

Abstract

High-mountain lakes possess tremendous ecological significance and contribute to the well-being of local mountain population and those living in adjacent lowland areas. Over the years, the structure and function of these ecosystems have experienced significant variations particularly due to the synergistic effects of climate stressors and human perturbations as well as reformed water consumption patterns. However, research on hydrology of mountain lakes remains focused on particular regions and related scientific perspectives on lake ecological shifts are still insufficient. Furthermore, the lack of strong nexus between scientists, stakeholders, and local community also promotes data gaps in mountain paleolimnology. Hence, it should be recognized that investigating the nexus between different stakeholders and global climate shifts as well as investigating the anthropogenic forcing factors in high-mountain lakes is fundamental for future hydrological studies. New proxy-based assessments and continuous, high-frequency limnological measurements will help improve spatiotemporal resolution and address existing data gaps in high-mountain limnology and paleolimnology.