Fifty years of limnological data on Lake Stechlin, a temperate clearwater lake
We present 50 years of monitoring data on water quality of Lake Stechlin, a deep, dimictic hardwater lake in northeastern Germany known for its exceptionally clear water. Although located in a forested catchment, the lake has undergone major changes in recent decades, including a period of massive heating of surface water when receiving cooling water from a nearby nuclear power plant (1966-1990), accompanied by a greatly shortened water residence time from more than 40 years to less than 300 days. These changes are superimposed by a long-term trend of surface water warming and a concomitant decrease in winter ice cover. Total phosphorus concentrations have quadrupled since 2010 and zones of deep-water oxygen depletion have greatly expanded. The presented dataset covers basic water-chemical and physical records taken at monthly to fortnightly intervals from 1970 to 2020, documenting limnological changes during that period. Furthermore, it serves as a valuable basis to assess and project potential consequences of climate change and other types of environmental change on deep clearwater lakes in temperate climates.
Authors
- Reingard Roßberg
- Hans‐Peter Grossart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9141-0325)
- Silke R. Schmidt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9016-3887)
- Stella A. Berger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8835-545X)
- Ute Beyer
- Michael Sachtleben
- Christine Kiel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8424-2140)
- Rainer Koschel
- Lothar Krienitz (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8220-2033)
- Lars Ganzert (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9595-1041)
- Sabine Wollrab (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2430-4845)
- Peter Casper (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5956-4674)
- Armin Penske
- Jason Nicholas Woodhouse (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1129-5396)
- Mark O. Gessner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2516-7416)
- Matthias Bodenlos
- Marén Lentz
- Jens C. Nejstgaard (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1236-0647)
- Monika Degebrodt
- Thomas Gonsiorczyk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-4726-9709)
- Solvig Pinnow
- Diethelm Ronneberger
- Peter Kasprzak
- Elfi Huth
- Elke Mach
- Uta Mallok
- Adelheid Scheffler
- Johanna Dalchow
- Lutz Küchler
- Monika Papke
Institutions
- Universität Hamburg (DE)
- University of Potsdam (DE)
- Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (DE)
- German Environment Agency (DE)
- Technische Universität Berlin (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Scientific Data
- Published
- 2025-06-18
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05319-8
- Citations
- 2
- Primary Topic
- Soil and Water Nutrient Dynamics
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.72