Lake Ice Database

Since 2009, the Watershed Hydrology and Ecosystems Research Division of Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has coordinated spring time multi point ice thickness and composition surveys at up to 15 lake sites in the Northern Hemisphere. Data collected includes on ice snow depth, total ice thickness, depth of white ice, depth of black ice and hydrostatic water level. A review of open data, literature and data request sources identify additional ice thickness, composition and phenology datasets for the locations. This report summarizes the work undertaken to compile these Lake Ice (LI)- Thickness, Composition(TC) and Phenology(P) datasets for upload to a government of Canada open data portal. Compiling these historical lake ice data is a necessary first step towards better understanding the effects of climate on lake ice and its implication on water quality.