Lake Erie

Study: Harmful algae in central Lake Erie too

A new study of harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie’s central basin, mentioned in an April 23 post, gets deeper coverage in a story today by Ohio State science writer Misti Crane.

Not only do blooms routinely occur in the lake’s central basin, the story says, they can also produce types of cyanobacterial toxins—toxins produced by cyanobacteria, the organisms responsible for harmful algal blooms—that typically aren’t detected through routine water-safety monitoring.

Continue reading Study: Harmful algae in central Lake Erie too →

Team works to benefit water and farms

CFAES’ Healthy Land-Water Systems: Water Quality, Economics, and Human Behavior program, whose diverse team of scientists identifies ways to improve water quality while supporting agricultural production, won the Multi-disciplinary Team Award at last week’s CFAES Annual Research Conference. Find out more.

Stone Lab to ramp up its work for Lake Erie

CFAES’ Stone Laboratory, already the home of extensive long-term Lake Erie water quality efforts, is adding a new research building at Put-in-Bay and new monitoring equipment on the Maumee River, Lake Erie’s largest tributary, thanks to funding provided by Senate Bill 299, the bipartisan Clean Lake 2020 Plan.

Continue reading Stone Lab to ramp up its work for Lake Erie →

Study: Keep tabs on algae in central Lake Erie

Harmful algal blooms aren’t just a thing in western Lake Erie. They happen in the lake’s central basin too, and when they do, they sometimes produce toxins.

So says a new study led by Justin Chaffin of CFAES’ Stone Laboratory, which set out to learn more about the central basin’s less-studied blooms, including what drives them and whether they produce toxins called cyanobacterial toxins. The toxins, which can threaten human health, must be removed by facilities that treat drinking water.

Continue reading Study: Keep tabs on algae in central Lake Erie →

‘So many snakes!’—and that’s a good thing

If you’ve been to the Lake Erie islands lately, you’ve probably seen Lake Erie watersnakes, which were brought back from the brink of extinction—to the benefit of the islands’ natural systems—by scientists and volunteers with CFAES’ Stone Laboratory.

Learn more in the video above and in our latest CFAES Story.

Stone Lab weekend? Check the weather

Update as of Friday afternoon from Ohio Sea Grant’s website: “Work weekend is still on but it has been shortened. Friday will still be as planned. Saturday will be shortened and there will be NO OVERNIGHT stays. Everyone will be transported off Gibraltar (Island) and be put on the 3:00 and 4:00pm Miller ferry. You will still be provided Friday night pizza, and Saturday breakfast and lunch.”

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An update from Ohio Sea Grant’s website about this weekend’s Stone Laboratory volunteer work weekend at Lake Erie:

“There is an inclement weather warning for this weekend. Due to high wind and water levels it is possible that the ferries will not be running and Spring Work Weekend will be cancelled or shortened.”

Keep checking your email for updates, says the website, which promises a decision by 11 a.m. today, Friday, April 12.

Check out live webcams at Put-in-Bay harbor and several lab locations.

Help Stone Lab prepare for the season

Stone Laboratory’s 2019 volunteer Spring Work Weekend—which helps the lab prepare for its busy spring and summer, including its courses for college students—is April 12–14. Overnight accommodations are wait-list only now, but helpers are welcome for the day on Saturday, April 13. Participation is free, and breakfast and lunch are included. Find out more and register.

The lab, part of CFAES, is located at Put-in-Bay on Lake Erie. (Photo: 2018 Stone Lab work weekend, Jeff Reutter, Ohio Sea Grant, via Flickr.)

How climate change is affecting the Great Lakes

In areas from rainfall to lake levels, fish to algal blooms, shipping to agriculture, drinking water quality to public health, “Climate change is causing significant and far-reaching impacts on the Great Lakes and the Great Lakes region.”

That’s according to the science-based Assessment of the Impacts of Climate Change on the Great Lakes, released last week by the nonprofit Environmental Law & Policy Center, based in Chicago, and the nonprofit Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

Continue reading How climate change is affecting the Great Lakes →

Filter removes up to 75 percent of phosphorus

CFAES scientists are testing a filter that could take out up to 75 percent of the phosphorus in farm field runoff.

Why it’s important: Phosphorus in farm field runoff is a driver of harmful algal blooms, such as those plaguing western Lake Erie. Reducing that phosphorus could limit the blooms and by doing so help improve water quality.

Read the story.