Dense beds of Eurasian watermilfoil carpet the surface of Hancock Lake, a few miles east of Tomahawk, W.I., where undergraduate researchers Linden Taylor and Brigid Doyle have come to take samples of the invasive aquatic …
Month: August 2018
How A 30-Year Rain Event Became a 100-Year Flood
In case you’ve somehow missed the news, let’s just say that it’s been wet in Wisconsin over the last week. Really, really wet. Here in Madison we’re still holding our breath, filling up sandbags and …
Fish by the Light of the Blood Moon: Late-Night Research on Northwoods Lakes
Night was falling quickly over Big Muskellunge Lake. The pink glow of sunset was fading to grey, and a damp wind that cut through my thin raincoat had kicked up over the water. On our …
Record Rain in Madison is What Climate Change Looks Like – Especially in Midwest
It’s been more than 24 hours since a severe weather system stalled out over Dane County and dumped anywhere from 3.92 (Dane County Airport), to 11.63 (National Weather Service in Middleton) to an unconfirmed 15.33 …
Forensic Fishing: Using eDNA to Track Fish Populations
by Sydney Widell – At the start of every fishing season, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources embarks on the arduous task of setting catch limits on the state’s popular game fish like walleye. In …
The Mystery of the “Fairy Rings” on Howe Lake
by Sydney Widell — Howe Lake is hard to get to. It lies at the end of a narrow, rutted-out dirt road, ten miles from the nearest town. And it’s not just physical distance that …
Guest Post: Aquatic Invasive Species Threaten Shipwreck Preservation in the Great Lakes
By Ryan Smazal, Wisconsin Historical Society; and Sara Fox, University of Wisconsin-Extension As many might know, the Great Lakes house about a fifth of the freshwater supply for the entire world. A less commonly known …
Florida’s Red Tide Shows Algae Blooms Aren’t Just a Wisconsin Problem
While we were knee-deep in stories about algae problems in Wisconsin’s lakes this summer, a serious outbreak of blooms has been unfolding in Florida where a massive “red tide” is swirling in the waters off both …
Out of the Woods, Into the Trees: Trout Lake Research on the Streets of Fond du Lac
This is Part 3 of a 3-Part series on an ambitious summer research project exploring how trees manage their water supplies and respond to drought. You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here. …
Pre-Dawn Fieldwork, Pancakes and Pixels: Study Aims to See the Forests and the Trees
This is Part 2 of a 3-Part series on an ambitious summer research project exploring how trees manage their water supplies and respond to drought. Part 1 is here and Part 3 is coming soon! …