TRCA Climate Data - Change in Lake Ontario Surface Temperature
This file is a download link to LST_AnnualMean_Delta_9120_minus_8110_2500m.tif. This layer shows the change (or delta difference) in annual average lake surface temperature between two periods: 1981-2010 and 1991-2020.
This data can be explored through the WLO Data Explorer, along with other environmental layers.
Project Description
The “Compendium of Coastal Resilience Issues and Typology of Nature-based and Hybrid Solutions” project was supported by the Province of Ontario and the Canada Water Agency.
Stretching between the Niagara River in the south to Cobourg in the east, Western Lake Ontario is home to nearly a quarter of Canada’s population and the fastest growing region in the Great Lakes Basin.
Climate change poses a growing threat to communities and ecosystems along Western Lake Ontario, intensifying existing pressures such as urbanization, land conversion, and legacy contamination.
To help address these challenges, the Land to Lake Initiative was established in 2022 to foster stronger, more coordinated collaborations to enhance capacity for actions that improve water quality and ecosystem health in Western Lake Ontario.
This study supports the objectives of this partnership initiative by:
Broadening understanding of coastal resilience issues affecting this region, and
Identifying and visualizing different types of nature-based and hybrid (or “green-grey”) solutions that can help address these challenges.
For more information about this project, please see our project webpage: https://trca.ca/land-to-lake/issues-solutions-compendium/
Data Description
Change in Lake Ontario Surface Temperature (°C)
The daily gridded Lake Surface Temperature (LST) dataset for Lake Ontario, covering the 1979-2020 period at a 1-km spatial resolution, was developed by Kayastha et al. (2023) (https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/17/4253) and obtained from an open-source repository (Zenodo, 2023) (https://zenodo.org/records/7995786) in April 2026. This dataset was generated using a deep learning approach centred on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks to overcome the limitations of cloud interference in traditional satellite observations. By training lake-specific models on over 33,000 unstructured grid points and forcing them with ERA5 atmospheric reanalysis variables, a gap-free and spatiotemporally consistent record was produced.
This layer shows the change (or delta difference) in annual average lake surface temperature between two periods: 1981-2010 and 1991-2020.
Annual average lake surface temperature layers are also available for the two periods individually upon request: 1981-2010 and 1991-2020. Please email [email protected].
Datasets available for download
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Additional Info
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| Last Updated | July 1, 2026, 07:13 (UTC) |
| Created | July 1, 2026, 07:13 (UTC) |
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Domain / Topic
Domain or topic of the dataset being cataloged.
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Title
Title for the Dataset.
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TRCA Climate Data - Change in Lake Ontario Surface Temperature |
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Description
A description of the dataset.
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This file is a download link to LST_AnnualMean_Delta_9120_minus_8110_2500m.tif. This layer shows the change (or delta difference) in annual average lake surface temperature between two periods: 1981-2010 and 1991-2020. This data can be explored through the WLO Data Explorer, along with other environmental layers. Project Description The “Compendium of Coastal Resilience Issues and Typology of Nature-based and Hybrid Solutions” project was supported by the Province of Ontario and the Canada Water Agency. Stretching between the Niagara River in the south to Cobourg in the east, Western Lake Ontario is home to nearly a quarter of Canada’s population and the fastest growing region in the Great Lakes Basin. Climate change poses a growing threat to communities and ecosystems along Western Lake Ontario, intensifying existing pressures such as urbanization, land conversion, and legacy contamination. To help address these challenges, the Land to Lake Initiative was established in 2022 to foster stronger, more coordinated collaborations to enhance capacity for actions that improve water quality and ecosystem health in Western Lake Ontario. This study supports the objectives of this partnership initiative by:
For more information about this project, please see our project webpage: https://trca.ca/land-to-lake/issues-solutions-compendium/ Data Description Change in Lake Ontario Surface Temperature (°C) The daily gridded Lake Surface Temperature (LST) dataset for Lake Ontario, covering the 1979-2020 period at a 1-km spatial resolution, was developed by Kayastha et al. (2023) (https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/15/17/4253) and obtained from an open-source repository (Zenodo, 2023) (https://zenodo.org/records/7995786) in April 2026. This dataset was generated using a deep learning approach centred on Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) networks to overcome the limitations of cloud interference in traditional satellite observations. By training lake-specific models on over 33,000 unstructured grid points and forcing them with ERA5 atmospheric reanalysis variables, a gap-free and spatiotemporally consistent record was produced. This layer shows the change (or delta difference) in annual average lake surface temperature between two periods: 1981-2010 and 1991-2020. Annual average lake surface temperature layers are also available for the two periods individually upon request: 1981-2010 and 1991-2020. Please email [email protected]. |
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Format (CSV, XLS, TXT, PDF, etc)
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Dataset Size
Dataset size in megabytes.
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0.08 |
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Metadata Identifier
Metadata identifier – can be used as the unique identifier for catalogue entry
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Published Date
Published date of the dataset.
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2026-06-29 |
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Start date of the data in the dataset.
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Access category
Type of access granted for the dataset (open, closed, service, etc).
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public |
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License
License used to access the dataset.
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Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) Open Data Licence v1.0 - Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) |
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Limits on use
Limits on use of data.
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Location
Location of the dataset.
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https://trca-camaps.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/camaps::trca-climate-data-change-in-lake-ontario-surface-temperature |
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Data Service
Data service for accessing a dataset.
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Owner
Owner of the dataset.
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trca_d.macleod |
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Contact Point
Who to contact regarding access?
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Conservation Ontario |
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Contact Point Email
The email to contact regarding access?
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[email protected] |
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Publisher
Publisher of the dataset.
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Conservation Ontario |
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Publisher Email
Email of the publisher.
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Author
Author of the dataset.
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trca_d.macleod |
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Email of the author.
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Accessed At
Date the data and metadata was accessed.
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2026-06-30 |
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Identifier
Unique identifier for the dataset.
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6f2aaf5b8632423eacbe405bba9710d4 |
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Language
Language(s) of the dataset
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English |
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Link to dataset description
A URL to an external document describing the dataset.
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https://trca-camaps.opendata.arcgis.com/datasets/camaps::trca-climate-data-change-in-lake-ontario-surface-temperature |
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Data is identified by a persistent identifier.
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Data is identified by a persistent and globally unique identifier.
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None |
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None |
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Link to dataset that it is a version of.
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Provenance Text
Provenance Text of the data.
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Conservation Ontario |
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Provenance URL of the data.
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Describes how granular the date/time data in the dataset is.
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Describes how granular (in meters) geospatial data is in the dataset.
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GeoSpatial resolution (in regions)
Describes how granular (in regions) geospatial data is in the dataset.
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Indigenous Community Permission
Who holds the Indigenous Community Permission. Who to contact regarding access to a dataset that has data about Indigenous communities.
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Community permission (who gave permission).
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The Indigenous communities the dataset is about
Indigenous communities from which data is derived.
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Describes the quality of the data in the dataset.
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