This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are agreeing to our use of cookies. 
CEDA logo

Dataset

 

ESA Lakes Climate Change Initiative (Lakes_cci): Harmonised lake surface water temperature and lake ice cover gap-filled product derived from Lake_cci CRDP v3.0 , Version 1.0

Update Frequency: Not Planned
Latest Data Update: 2026-10-27
Status: Completed
Online Status: ONLINE
Publication State: Citable
Publication Date: 2026-10-28
DOI Publication Date: 2026-10-28
Download Stats: last 12 months
Dataset Size: 10.71K Files | 236GB
Abstract

This dataset provides a global Level4 harmonised, gap-filled Lake Surface Water Temperature (LSWT) and Lake Ice Cover (LIC) dataset for 2,000 inland water bodies over the period 2000-2023 as part of the European Space Agency (ESA) Lakes Climate Change Initiative (Lakes_cci) project.

The dataset includes two thematic Lake ECVs: LSWT, derived from optical and thermal satellite observations, supporting analysis of mixing regimes, biogeochemical cycling; and LIC derived from optical satellite observations, describing the ice freeze-up and break-up. Together, these variables provide key indicators of climate variability and change.

This version 1.0 of the harmonised dataset is derived from the ESA CCI Lakes ECV Products Climate Data Research Package (CRDP) v3.0, specifically the LSWT and LIC products. The LSWT and the LIC were gap-filled independently and subsequently harmonised to ensure consistency between the variables. The gap-filling and harmonisation methods are described in three journal articles.

Because the gap-filled LSWT and LIC products are harmonised, they are fully consistent. Therefore, no water temperature is reported for grid cells classified as ice-covered.

The data are reported in two forms: 1) daily global files and 2) per lake time series files. The catalogue includes a CSV file listing all lakes for which the product is available. The lake mask for each lake is provided in all the files.

Citable as:  Carrea, L.; Duguay, C.; Johnston, S.; Merchant, C.; Murfitt, J.; Shataer, S. (2026): ESA Lakes Climate Change Initiative (Lakes_cci): Harmonised lake surface water temperature and lake ice cover gap-filled product derived from Lake_cci CRDP v3.0 , Version 1.0. NERC EDS Centre for Environmental Data Analysis, 28 October 2026. doi:10.5285/eac4f125ae6d4909b706a130e20ceeab. https://dx.doi.org/10.5285/eac4f125ae6d4909b706a130e20ceeab
Cite this dataset

Abbreviation: Not defined
Keywords: European Space Agency, Climate Change Initiative, Lakes, Essential Climate Variables, Analysis product

Details

Previous Info:
No news update for this record
Previously used record identifiers:
No related previous identifiers.
Access rules:
Public data: access to these data is available to both registered and non-registered users.
Use of these data is covered by the following licence(s):
https://artefacts.ceda.ac.uk/licences/specific_licences/esacci_lakes_terms_and_conditions.pdf
When using these data you must cite them correctly using the citation given on the CEDA Data Catalogue record.
Data lineage:

The dataset was derived from the Level3 LSWT and LIC product of the ESA Lakes Climate Change Initiative (Lakes_cci): Lake products, Version 3.0 as part of the ESA Lakes Climate Change Initiative project.

Data was upplied for archiving at the Centre for Environmental Data Analysis (CEDA) as part of the CCI Open Data Portal.
Data Quality:
The L4 gap-filled LSWT+LIC product was validated through manual inspection, comparison with other existing product and comparison with in situ data. Full description of the validation can be found in three journal articles.
File Format:
Data are in NetCDF format

Related Documents

 CCI Lakes project website
 ESA Climate Change Initiative website

Process overview

This dataset was generated by the computation detailed below.
Title

Derivation of the ESA Lakes Climate Change Initiative (Lakes_cci): Harmonised lake surface water temperature and lake Ice cover gap-filled product, Version 1.0
Abstract

The dataset was derived from the Level3 Lake Surface Water Temperature (LSWT) and Lake Ice Cover (LIC) product from the ESA Lakes Climate Change Initiative (Lakes_cci): Lake products, Version 3.0 dataset (https://doi.org/10.5285/a56dba09df8a42ec9fba8b8c7a5e1f69)

Lake Surface Water Temperature (LSWT) and Lake Ice Cover (LIC) were gap-filled independently using separate algorithms and subsequently harmonised to produce a consistent LSWT+LIC dataset.

Detailed descriptions of the gap-filling methods, algorithm selection process, and harmonisation approach are provided in three journal articles. Further information on the dataset is available in these publications and in the Product User Guide of the ESA Lakes Climate Change Initiative (Lakes_cci): Lake products, Version 3.0.
Input Description

None
Output Description

None
Software Reference

None
  • units: km
  • var_id: distance_to_land
  • long_name: Lake ID
  • var_id: crs
  • units: 1
  • var_id: lake_ice_cover_analysis
  • long_name: lake ice cover analysis
  • var_id: lic_analysis_flag
  • long_name: lake ice cover analysis flag
  • units: kelvin
  • var_id: lake_surface_water_temperature_analysis
  • long_name: lake surface water temperature analysis
  • var_id: lswt_analysis_flag
  • long_name: lake surface water temperature analysis flag

Co-ordinate Variables

  • units: degrees_north
  • standard_name: latitude
  • long_name: latitude
  • var_id: lat
  • units: degrees_east
  • standard_name: longitude
  • long_name: longitude
  • var_id: lon
  • long_name: time
  • standard_name: time
  • var_id: time
  • units: seconds
Coverage
Temporal Range
Start time:
2000-02-24T00:00:00
End time:
2023-12-31T00:00:00
Geographic Extent

 
90.0000°
  
-180.0000°
  
180.0000°
 
-90.0000°
  
Related parties
Authors (6)
Publishers (1)