With folks in the Midwest staring down a long span of below frigid weather, icy and snow-covered surfaces are becoming the norm. While we totally understand the desire to reach for a big bag of …
Water Quality, Hydrology & Nutrients
Annual PSA: To Keep Our Freshwater Fresh, We Must Be Smart About Winter Salt
Winter in the colder climes of North America means a lot of things – frozen lakes, white blankets of snow and, far too often, the crunch of salt crystals underfoot. While we use salt to …
‘Epic’ Summer Road Trip Reveals the Big Impact Small Streams Have on Great Lakes
MADISON – In the summer of 2018, Rob Mooney, a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for Limnology, set out on an epic road trip around Lake Michigan. Mooney was no stranger to …
Learn Your Lakes: Spring Runoff and Nutrient Loading
This weekend, my family and I went on a drive. These days, any chance to leave the house while still practicing safe social distancing feels like a blessing and this drive felt especially so. There …
Water We Talking About? Why Water Can Look Like Root Beer
The idea is simple – kids have questions and we have scientists with answers. We’re all stuck working and studying from home, so (home)school is now in session! The Question: Sometimes the lake water looks …
Why Did These Freshwater Scientists Spend Their Winter Plowing a Bog?
As March gives way to April, spring is springing throughout Wisconsin. Boats are again braving the waves of lakes down south, while ice is slowly melting away in the half-frozen lakes of the Northwoods. As …
Amid Clean Water Act Rollbacks, a New Chemical of Concern emerges
The health of U.S. waters are often steered in whichever way the political winds are blowing. In 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under leadership appointed by the Obama administration, expanded the definition of what …
Why Wetlands Matter
I couldn’t have timed my commute worse this morning. The wind picked up just as I was stepping on the bus. Halfway to work, the lightning and thunder started up. And, just in time for …
Want to Reduce Road Salt Impacts on Ecosystems and Infrastructure? Just Add Water.
The above picture shows CFL assistant professor Hilary Dugan and a giant pile of rock salt. It is so much salt. How much? Well, this particular pile belongs to the Jefferson County Highway Department and …
In The News: Federal shutdown threatens environmental research, resource management up and down Mississippi River
As the government shutdown drags on with no end in sight, we’d planned to write about how it’s impacting the freshwater sciences as researchers are sidelined at the National Science Foundation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife …