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 Quality, Hydrology & Nutrients
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 …
Annual PSA: To Keep Our Freshwater Fresh, We Need to Be Smart About Salt
Well, once again ’tis the season – snow plows are rumbling down our roadways, sidewalks are getting slippery and neighbors are out greeting each other with snow shovels in hand (it’s November 11th and this …
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 …
“David Buoy” Wraps Up 11th Year Monitoring Lake Mendota
Yesterday we caught a slight break in our string of cold, windy days and researchers here from the UW- Madison Center for Limnology and Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences were able to head out …
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 …