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Mountain lakes are among the most sensitive ecosystems on Earth, acting as early indicators of environmental shifts driven by global change. This research explores how mountain lake ecosystems are responding to the compounded effects of climate warming, altered hydrology, and atmospheric nutrient deposition. This research across high-elevation watersheds in the western United States, presents compelling evidence of how global stressors are reshaping the structure and function of these aquatic environments. This work reveals that rising temperatures, reductions in snowpack, and increases in nitrogen deposition are driving ecological shifts, including changes in primary production, algal community composition, and nutrient cycling. These processes have implications for biodiversity, food web dynamics, and carbon sequestration. Through a combination of long-term monitoring, high-frequency sensor data, and experimental manipulations, critical thresholds and feedbacks that may accelerate ecological change in mountain lakes have been identified. This research highlights how remote mountain systems, often perceived as pristine or buffered from anthropogenic influence, are in fact highly vulnerable to global pressures. By integrating limnological, biogeochemical, and landscape-scale approaches, this work clearly emphasizes the urgency of understanding and mitigating the cascading impacts of global change on fragile freshwater ecosystems.