The volume and mean depth of Earth's lakes

• Global lake volume estimates are scarce, highly variable, and poorly documented. We developed a rigorous method for estimating global lake depth and volume based on the Hurst coefficient of Earth's surface, which provides a mechanistic connection between lake area and volume. Volume-area scaling based on the Hurst coefficient is accurate and consistent when applied to lake data sets spanning diverse regions. We applied these relationships to a global lake area census to estimate global lake volume and depth. The volume of Earth's lakes is 199,000km(3) (95% confidence interval 196,000-202,000km(3)). This volume is in the range of historical estimates (166,000-280,000km(3)), but the overall mean depth of 41.8m (95% CI 41.2-42.4m) is significantly lower than previous estimates (62-151m). These results highlight and constrain the relative scarcity of lake waters in the hydrosphere and have implications for the role of lakes in global biogeochemical cycles.

Subject headings

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Biologi -- Ekologi (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Biological Sciences -- Ecology (hsv//eng)

Keyword

limnology

topograhy

scaling

volume

mean depth

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)