LakeTEMP is a database of observed lake surface water temperatures (LSWT) and estimated lake ice phenology worldwide for all lakes larger than 0.1km². It features a rich observational dataset of LSWT, along with monthly and yearly summary statistics, and offers predictions of average yearly ice cover durations for approximately 1.4 million lakes within the HydroLAKES database.

This immense collection of data allows researchers to uncover essential insights into how temperature changes affect lake ecosystems, aquatic life, and climate patterns. All observations have gone through rigorous quality control processes including outlier detection, removal of overlapping imagery, and the removal of observations taken from dry lake beds. With this dataset, scientists and researchers can conduct investigations of thermal processes in lakes and contribute to our understanding of these systems and their role in the functioning of the bio- and hydrosphere.

LakeTEMP is fully documented in Korver et al. (2024), see References below. For more information on LakeTEMP please also refer to the LakeTEMP Technical Documentation.

The LakeTEMP database is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 International License. By downloading and using the data, the user agrees to the terms and conditions of this license.

Korver, M. C., Lehner, B., Cardille, J. A., & Carrea, L. (2024). Surface water temperature observations and ice phenology estimations for 1.4 million lakes globally. Remote Sensing of Environment, 308, 114164. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2024.114164