by Anna Mueller – I showed up at the Center for Limnology’s Hasler Lab a few hours after the sun had risen and it was already getting hot. I was sweaty from biking to work …
water quality
“Within the first few hours, I already looked at the lake differently.” Hasler Lab’s summer intern reflects on her first week.
by Anna Mueller – I have grown up in the Madison lakes – jumping into Mendota and Wingra every summer without a second thought, doing polar plunges late in the fall, fishing with my brother. …
Earlier Algae Blooms, Lingering Toxins: Invasive Species Cause Big Changes to a Lake’s Microbial Community
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: A new study is highlighting the outsized impacts that invasive species can have – even on the tiniest residents in an ecosystem. Published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy …
Fan Mail and A Few Thoughts About Science’s Role in Society
A few weeks ago, a letter arrived in our mailbox here at Hasler Lab from a reader of this blog. It was … not the most positive message. In fact, it stopped just short of …
In Rare Dose of Good Climate News Study Finds That, No, Algae Blooms Aren’t Getting Worse Everywhere
As Earth’s average temperature rises, climate change impacts are being felt across the globe. Hurricanes and wildfires are bigger and more destructive. Extreme rain events are more common. Droughts last longer. But, surprisingly, one big …
Water We Talking About? Is It Safe to Swim?
Happy Friday! We are 9finally) back with Water We Talking About – a series where kids send us freshwater-related questions and we track down real-life scientists to answer them. This week, brothers Will and Tom …
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 …
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 …
What Causes the Algae Blooms in Madison’s Lakes?
After last week’s massive cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) bloom in Lake Mendota and smaller (but no less unpleasant) blooms reported in Lake Monona and Waubesa, we received all sorts of questions on what causes these blooms, …
Massive Blue-Green Algae Bloom Stretches Across Lake Mendota
A couple of weeks ago, after yet another round of intense rain in the Madison area, we headed over to the website of the Wisconsin State Climatology office, curious if we were seeing more rain …