Lake Suwa’s Shinto Legend and the Oldest Lake Ice Record on Earth: What It Tells Us About Climate Change and Variability

Shinto priests observing an ancient legend recorded ice freeze dates on Lake Suwa in Japan starting in the 15th Century. On the other side of the world, a local merchant began a tradition of recording ice thaw events on the Torne River in Finland in the 17th century. Both traditions continue to the present day and represent the oldest known records of lake freeze and river thaw observations on Earth. Thanks to the careful preservation and documentation of these records and the perseverance of a team of modern-day scientists, the records have been analyzed to find out what they can tell us about climate change and variability.