Yesterday, I rounded the corner of the block in my neighborhood and immediately pulled my dog off the sidewalk. Spread out before us was a carpet of chalky white salt crystals stretching across nearly a …
road salt
Study: Not Even the Largest Lakes in the World Are Immune to Salt
Tourist towns along the Lake Michigan shoreline love to proclaim the giant body of water “Unsalted and Shark-Free.” The slogan is plastered on t-shirts, magnets and bumper stickers but, according to a study published December …
Seeping Salt: Study Finds “Slow and Steady” Salinization of North American Lakes
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Many North American lakes are getting saltier, thanks primarily to the road salt used to keep winter roads free of ice and snow. While this salt can keep precipitation from freezing …
Could an Antarctic Fish Hold the Key for Safely De-Icing Our Winter Roads?
The Antarctic toothfish (Dissostichus mawsoni) is a large, nearly six-foot long resident of Earth’s very southernmost waters. It’s range begins at the 60th parallel, which is basically the beginning of the Southern Ocean which means, …
3 Ways to “Salt Smarter” During Winter Weather
[UPDATED 12/20/22] – With folks in the Midwest staring down a long span of below frigid weather (and a blizzard warning!), icy and snow-covered surfaces are becoming the norm. While we totally understand the desire …
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 …
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 …
North America’s Freshwater Lakes are Getting Saltier
by Kelly Tyrrell, UW-Madison Communications FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – MADISON, WI – Road salt is making North America’s freshwater lakes saltier, according to a new study published today [April 10, 2017] in the Proceedings of …
Road Salt Turns Deep Water into “Low-Sodium Soup”
Before the ice melts off these lakes here in Madison (we will get ice-off this year, right???), we thought we’d share a report from our senior research technician, Ted Bier, who you may have seen …