Effect of North Atlantic Oscillation on the hydrological conditions of Lake Morskie Oko (Carphatian Mountains)

Abstract The paper presents the effect of North Atlantic Oscillation of macroscale atmospheric circulation (NAO) on the hydrological conditions of Lake Morskie Oko located at an altitude of 1392.8 m a.s.l. in the highest range of the Carpathians. The paper applied detailed hydrometric information from the years 1971-2010 concerning water level fluctuations, water temperature, terms of the commencement and end of ice phenomena and ice cover, as well as meteorological data concerning air temperature and atmospheric precipitation, and monthly and seasonal NAO indices. The performed analysis suggests that the majority of analysed hydrological characteristics of Lake Morskie Oko was not prone to variability of NAO intensity in its various phases. The situation results from the local conditions, particularly responsible for the course of processes and phenomena in Lake Morskie Oko, simultaneously obscuring the effect of macroscale factors.