Sometimes it feels like limnology is an Internet afterthought and this blog is the lone oasis of freshwater science in a cyber wasteland. But then a few links surface from the deep and I realize that there’s actually a lot of cool freshwater science on the web if you just know where to look. …
When it comes to surface water pollution, people tend to think big. The focus is often on metropolitan sewer districts, large dairy operations, or sediment build-up behind giant dams. It turns out that small-scale dams used on farms to create things like livestock watering holes and irrigation ditches play just as important a role in …
In 1990, a small stowaway was dumped from the ballast tank of an ocean-going freighter into the waters of the St. Clair River, joining more than 180 other non-native species in the Great Lakes. Two decades later, the round goby, an aggressive, voracious, bottom-dwelling fish has invaded all five Great Lakes and has had profound …
‘Tis the Season for the Center for Limnology’s annual newsletter. For a good look at some of the things we got up to this year, as well as faculty milestones, alumni news and grad student profiles, you can find a PDF of the 2012 newsletter (as well as copies of past newsletters) right here. If …
MADISON – Water covers 70% of the earth’s surface, makes up the majority of our bodies, and its use, quality, and availability are some of the most critical issues facing our world today. Water is also a critical area of research at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a fact that can sometimes be obscured, because water-related …
Another week, another winner in the Center for Limnology “Wordless Wednesday” photo caption contest! This week’s winner gets the gold for a clever combination of username “Ahab” and the following caption: “I’d rather harpoon a white whale.” As usual, the real caption is now included. For more on the Crystal Mixing Project, go here. Congrats, …
The October 2012 issue of Scientific American is out and it features a nice article on ecosystem regime shifts, CFL experimental workhorses Peter and Paul Lakes, and our director, Steve Carpenter. Ecosystems on the Brink by Carl Zimmer Peter lake lies deep in a maple forest near the Wisconsin-Michigan border. One day in July 2008 …
In the summer of 2012, a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Center for Limnology and Wright State University in Ohio, will call the shores of Africa’s Lake Tanganyika home. The oldest and deepest of the African rift lakes, Tanganyika is a natural wonder under severe threat. What’s more, it’s near-shore ecosystem contains …
Besides the rowboat being pulled across a grid of buoys, the surface of Peter Lake is calm. But, just 5 meters below the surface, a full experiment is under way. “Annndddd…. There is C-13 spilling out down there!” shouts Grace Wilkinson. Looking into the water doesn’t do any good, the carbon-isotope tracer that Wilkinson and …
CFL grad student, Dan Oele, is trying to see if pike return to their “birthplace” to spawn or if any ol’ tributary will do. Thanks to funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, Oele is out in Green Bay working on an answer. Watch (or read) below: GREEN BAY — It’s the second day of …