Ice Phenomena on Lake Wielki Staw in the Valley of Five Polish Lakes

The paper presents an analysis of the ice phenomena on Lake Wielki Staw in the Valley of Five Polish Lakes based on observations of the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management conducted in the years 1971–1979. The dates of commencement and decline of ice phenomena and ice cover and their persistence were determined. For 1978 and 1979, changes in the ice cover were determined, i.e., from development to decline. Due to the close vicinity of Lake Morskie Oko, comparisons were performed in terms of variability of ice phenomena of both of the lakes. The study showed among others that although Lake Wielki Staw is located higher than Lake Morskie Oko by approximately 270 m, ice phenomena on the lake appear on the average 10 days later than in Lake Morskie Oko, and the mean persistence of the ice cover is the same, i.e., it amounts to 167 days.