More on Algae blooms

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johnhens
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More on Algae blooms

Post by johnhens »

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Re: More on Algae blooms

Post by torpified »

Thanks. And: Yikes!

Would it be wrong for me to infer from the name of the bacterium implicated in these blooms that the poison in the lake is cyanide, or something like it?
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Re: More on Algae blooms

Post by Tom »

Very interesting article, John. I hadn't even thought of the "it shouldn't be happening here based on why we think it occurs" until they noted it. Clearly, it's not just eutrophication that creates a bloom. It will be interesting to follow the research.
torpified wrote: Sat Oct 07, 2017 6:32 am Would it be wrong for me to infer from the name of the bacterium implicated in these blooms that the poison in the lake is cyanide, or something like it?
In this particular case, yes; Cyanobacteria gets it name from the color (Cyan.) They are not cyanides, but rather cyanotoxins, but can be equally bad for you...
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Re: More on Algae blooms

Post by torpified »

Got it! And here is where I confess that I hadn't linked the names either of the poison or the bacteria to the name on the color printer cartridge, which I hadn't (ahem) realized was the name of a color. (I figured they'd made up "Cyan" because Crayola had trademarked all the real words for blue and green . . . .) This forum has been a wellspring of vocabulary for me: cyan, manway, biffy . . . .

But from words to world: can you actually SEE that these blooms are going on? I've seen the satellite pictures of green algae on Lake Erie -- but is it as prominent from eye/lake level?
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Re: More on Algae blooms

Post by IncaRoads »

I contacted the lead researcher on this study and inquired about which lakes were being monitored. Here is his response...

Mark Edlund, Senior Scientist, St. Croix Watershed Research Station, Science Museum of Minnesota, wrote:
Thanks for your interest in our work. This appearance of cyanobacterial blooms on ISRO is a real puzzle for us. Our monitoring work is targeting 8 lakes that capture the gradient of lake types on ISRO-small, shallow, stained to deep and clear. We are working on Siskiwit, DeSor, Richie, Sargent, Harvey, Feldtmann, Ahmik, and Wallace. We partner with NPS' Great Lakes Network group who, in addition to the 8 lakes, also do monthly monitoring for water quality on George and Beaver.

For additional information, I'd suggest the following reports, publications, and web resources:

1. Monitoring Water Quality of Inland Lakes, Great Lakes Network, 2012. https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/DownloadFile/490999.

2. A report from the USGS should be forthcoming (and is referenced in the above linked document).

3. Scientific papers on changes in algae communities:

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1 ... 8/abstract

https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Referenc ... le/2170717

4. Scientific paper on warming waters of ISRO.

http://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/9/9/678

5. General information on changes in ISRO lakes:

https://irma.nps.gov/DataStore/Referenc ... le/2219278

https://www.smm.org/scwrs/fieldnotes/re ... ow-why-yet

Thanks again for your interest. Keep us posted on what you are seeing out on ISRO.

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Re: More on Algae blooms

Post by johnhens »

Inca, thanks for following up on this. It will be interesting to follow this over time.
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