Long-term trends in river water temperature: a case study of the Raba River (Polish Carpathians)

Cracow University of Technology, Department of Environmental Engineering, Institute of Engineering and Water Management, Warszawska 24, 31-151 Cracow, Poland

^⁎ Corresponding author: mariola.kedra@iigw.pk.edu.pl

Abstract

This study analyses potential trends in river water temperature (Tw) over a period of 50 years (1960–2009). The study area is located in the Raba catchment in the Polish Carpathians. The aim of the study was to evaluate long-term trends in daily Tw for each season of the year as well as to compare the direction of these trends for sites located some distance upstream and downstream from the Dobczyce Reservoir (DR), built in 1986 on the Raba River. For autumn and winter, increases in mean, median, and minimum Tw are significant for the downstream site (39 km from the DR), with a rate of change of 0.18–0.26 ̊C per decade. Contrasting results were obtained for the spring and summer seasons; significant increases (0.22–0.47 ̊C per decade) in mean, median, and maximum Tw were found for the upstream site, in concordance with seasonal air temperature trends, but a significant decrease in maximum Tw (–0.42 and –0.35 ̊C per decade, respectively) was identified for the downstream site. The revealed discrepancies in the direction of seasonal trends for the upstream and downstream sites studied suggest an anthropogenic impact on Tw downstream from the DR. Overall, a significant increase in summer Tw suggest the need for appropriate flowing water management that would mitigate adverse effects of climate warming on the fluvial environment.