Lake Scientist

Toxins common in Canadian lakes

Kevin Rose — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 12:41:45 +0000

New research shows that microsystis – a toxin produced by harmful algal blooms – is common in lakes throughout Canada. Data from over 3,000 measurements in nearly 250 water bodies throughout Canada were used to produce the first estimates of the toxins at a continental scale. Every province had microsystis concentrations exceeding safe levels within the last 10 years. The research also shows that lakes with the highest concentration of nutrients were the most at risk, with reservoirs having the highest toxin concentrations.

Read more online:

NetNewsledger

and:

NRC Research Press

Image credit: USGS

New estimates of global water availability and consumption

Kevin Rose — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 12:07:34 +0000

While lakes often provide important drinking water supplies, most water is underground in aquifers. However, about 20% of aquifers around the world are being overexploited, as water is being drawn from them than faster than it can recharge naturally. Globally, society is using about 3.5 times more water than aquifers can support, with areas in North America and Asia most at risk of aquifers running dry over the next several decades. In the U.S. areas in the Central Valley in California and parts of the high plains in the Texas Panhandle and western Kansas are most at risk of running out of aquifers dry.

Read more online:

Nature.com

and:

REVMODO.com

New research program to begin on Lake Huron

Kevin Rose — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 12:50:32 +0000

Lake Huron will soon become the home to NOAA’s newest Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory at Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary in Alpena, Michigan. The new facility will focus almost exclusively on Huron, the least studied of the Great Lakes. From the new facilities scientists will study water quality, invasive and native species, nutrient levels, and lake physics. The new research program kicks off with participation from 11 Canadian and US organizations and 24 research and monitoring projects throughout 2012.

Read more online:

Great Lakes Echo

Over 50 species of freshwater animals close to extinction in Southeast US

Kevin Rose — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:31:40 +0000

The southeast US region is home to more species of freshwater animals than anywhere else in the world, including nearly two-thirds of all US fish species. Loss of water quality and water diverted for other uses is resulting in rapid drops in many unique species there.

Many freshwater species in the southeast live in karst ecosystems which are underground rivers and lakes that form in limestone rich areas. These unique ecosystems have a large number of animals that are found nowhere else on the planet. The growth of cities and agricultural land use has increased pollution entering these sensitive ecosystems and decreased water levels. Nationally, agriculture accounts for 70% of total water use, and the growth of agriculture in areas such as Florida now threatens many species.

Read more online:

Latina Lista

and

Center for Biological Diversity

Karst map from USGS

Record heat killing many freshwater fish

Kevin Rose — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 21:14:19 +0000

Record temperatures recorded throughout the US this summer are resulting in fatal conditions for many freshwater fish. As water temperatures go up, oxygen saturation goes down, making it difficult for fish, especially larger ones, to breath. In some areas of the Midwest river and lake temperatures have been at or above 100^oF (38^oC). The high temperatures are blamed for many fish kills and economic losses. In Iowa, for example, 37,000 sturgeon worth $10 million were recently found dead due to water temperatures that was 97^oF.

Read more online:

NPR

and:

CBS News

YSI donates monitoring buoy to improve Ohio water quality

Kevin Rose — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 15:23:10 +0000

Yellowsprings, Inc. recently donated a monitoring buoy and the Ohio EPA leased three more to help study the water quality of Grand Lake Saint Mary in western Ohio. Officials from the Ohio EPA say that the monitoring buoys will save the state money by autonomously collecting and streaming data, allowing managers to focus their time on other tasks instead of visiting the lake to collect measurements. The high frequency data is publicly available online at www.livelakedata.com.

Read more online:

Dayton Daily News

Lakes more sensitive to climate change than landscapes

Kevin Rose — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 16:22:25 +0000

New research on a globally distributed set of lakes shows that lakes are more sensitive to changes in temperature than are land ecosystems. As organisms respire they produce CO₂, an important greenhouse gas. In lakes, increases in temperature increase the rate of CO₂ production faster than compared with the landscape. These findings suggest that as the temperature warms lakes may become greater sources of CO₂ to the atmosphere.

Read more online:

Science Daily

Boat captains enlisted to improve Lake Erie water quality

Kevin Rose — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 16:22:46 +0000

The Lake Erie Charter Boat Association and the Ohio EPA have developed a new collaborative effort to improve the water quality of Lake Erie. Charter members will check at least four sites around the lake regularly to identify the presence of harmful algal blooms. It is hoped these efforts will provide the data needed to understand the causes and size of blooms, which can be toxic to both humans and other animals.

Read more online:

WKYC

The Republic

Asian Carp DNA detected in Lake Erie

Kevin Rose — Thu, 02 Aug 2012 15:29:55 +0000

DNA from Asian Carp has been detected in Lake Erie. It is feared that if the Asian Carp, an invasive species, gains a foothold in the Great Lakes it may do millions of dollars of damage.

While only about 1.5% of samples indicated the presence of the invasive species, officials from Ohio, Michigan and the US Fish and Wildlife Service immediately set up capturing efforts to try to find the fish. However, capture efforts were not successful, suggesting that the population is either very small or their DNA came from outside the lake.

Record sturgeon caught in British Columbia

Kevin Rose — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 20:38:56 +0000

A 12 foot 4 inch White Sturgeon was recently caught in the Fraser River in British Columbia, Canada. Estimated at 1,100 pounds before it was released, it is believed to be the largest fish ever caught in North America. The White Sturgeon is the largest freshwater fish in North America and the third largest species of sturgeon in the world.

See more online (including video): Z6Mag