Integrated long-term, in-situ observations are needed to document ongoing environmental change, to “ground-truth” remote sensing and model outputs and to predict future Earth system behaviour. The scientific and societal value of in-situ observations increases with site representativeness, temporal duration, number of parameters measured and comparability within and across sites. Research Infrastructures (RIs) can support harm...

Inland waters play an active role in the global carbon cycle and emit large volumes of the greenhouse gases (GHGs), methane (CH 4 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). A considerable body of research has improved emissions estimates from lakes, reservoirs and rivers but recent attention has been drawn to the importance of small, artificial waterbodies as poorly quantified but potentially important emission hotspots. Of particular inte...

We examined spatial patterns of trends in ice phenology and duration for 65 waterbodies across the Great Lakes region (Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Ontario, and New York) during a recent period of rapid climate warming (1975‐2004). Average rates of change in freeze (3.3 d decade −1 ) and breakup (22.1 d decade −1 ) dates were 5.8 and 3.3 times more rapid, respectively, than historical rates (1846‐1995) for Northern Hemisphe...