Although concentrations of chemicals and pollutants like salt and nutrients have increased in the deep waters of Lake George, they’re still too low to harm the ecosystem at those depths, according to an analysis of nearly 40 years of data published today in Limnology and Oceanography.
Although concentrations of chemicals and pollutants like salt and nutrients have increased in the deep waters of Lake George, they’re still too low to harm the ecosystem at those depths, according to an analysis of nearly 40 years of data published today in Limnology and Oceanography. However, the changes in the deep water sound an early warning for what are likely much larger impacts in the streams, wetlands, and shallow waters that rim the lake.
The Offshore Chemistry Program (OCP), run by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Darrin Fresh Water Institute, has been monitoring the deep waters of Lake George for 40 years. The Limnology and Oceanography paper, which also includes information on climate change, acid rain, and water transparency, presents results from the first 37 years. The analyses expand on an earlier report, published by Rensselaer and The FUND for Lake George, that assessed the first 30 years of data. That report inspired the creation of The Jefferson Project at Lake George, a pioneering collaboration of Rensselaer, IBM Research and The FUND for Lake George using advanced technology to vastly expand on the picture of the lake that the OCP produces.
“There are very few lake studies in the world that have given us such a wealth of information over time as the Offshore Chemistry Program,” said Rick Relyea, director of the Darrin Fresh Water Institute and the Jefferson Project. “Thanks to that long-term commitment, we have discovered that the deep waters of the lake are fairly resilient to human impacts. This insight has shifted our research focus from the deep water to the shallow water, streams and wetlands, places that are probably a lot less resilient and where most of the human impacts are being felt.”
William Hintz, lead author of the study and a former Jefferson Project researcher, said the trends — mostly defined by large percentage increases in still scarce chemicals — offer a useful heads-up.
Read more at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Image: Nearly four decades of environmental monitoring on Lake George has revealed that the deep waters are remarkably resilient despite increases in salt and nutrients. (Credit: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)
