Diel surface temperature range scales with lake size R. Iestyn Woolway Ian D. Jones Stephen C. Maberly Jon R. French David M. Livingstone Donald T. Monteith Gavin L. Simpson Stephen J. Thackeray Mikkel R. Andersen Richard W. Battarbee Curtis L. DeGasperi Christopher D. Evans Elvira de Eyto Heldrun Feuchtmayr David P. Hamilton Martin Kernan Jan Krokowski Alon Rimmer Kevin C. Rose James A. Rusak David Ryves Daniel R. Scott Ewan M. Shilland Robyn L. Smyth Peter A. Staehr Rhian Thomas Susan Waldron Gesa A. Weyhenmeyer 2134/21627 https://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/journal_contribution/Diel_surface_temperature_range_scales_with_lake_size/9484307 Ecological and biogeochemical processes in lakes are strongly dependent upon water temperature. Long-term surface warming of many lakes is unequivocal, but little is known about the comparative magnitude of temperature variation at Diel timescales, due to a lack of appropriately resolved data. Here we quantify the pattern and magnitude of Diel temperature variability of surface waters using high-frequency data from 100 lakes. We show that the near-surface Diel temperature range can be substantial in summer relative to long-term change and, for lakes smaller than 3 km2, increases sharply and predictably with decreasing lake area. Most small lakes included in this study experience average summer Diel ranges in their near-surface temperatures of between 4 and 7°C. Large Diel temperature fluctuations in the majority of lakes undoubtedly influence their structure, function and role in biogeochemical cycles, but the full implications remain largely unexplored. 2016-06-14 09:00:57 Lakes Climate Earth Sciences not elsewhere classified