Seeing the photos from the record-breaking algal bloom on Lake Erie in 2011 was like déjà vu for me. I grew up in the Great Lakes region in the 1960s and 1970s and remember the days when Lake Erie was declared “dead.” I later learned that the green scum that plagued the lake during summer [...]
According to a new multi-investigator study, with contributions from researchers funded by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science’s (NCCOS) Ecological Forecasting Program in Lake Erie, the record-breaking 2011 Lake Erie cyanobacteria bloom was likely caused by a combination of changing farming practices and weather conditions; conditions predicted to continue under a changing climate. The study led [...]
Yellow perch comprise Lake Erie’s largest commercial fishery and second most important recreational fishery. We presented research results from the NCCOS ecological forecasting (EcoFore) Lake Erie project to the Lake Erie Percid Management Advisory Group (LEPMAG) at the Lake Erie Committee of the Great Lakes Fishery Commission meeting on March 27, 2013. The primary purpose [...]
For those who live and play on the shores of Lake Erie, the spring rains that will begin falling here soon are less a blessing than a portent. They could threaten the very future of the lake itself. Lake Erie is sick. A thick and growing coat of toxic algae appears each summer, so vast [...]
Don Scavia, a researcher whose work is funded in part by the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, presented results from his Lake Erie hypoxia ecological forecasting project. His presentation focused on phosphorus loading, climate influence on those loads, subsequent impacts on dissolved oxygen and harmful algal blooms, and best management practices to control nutrient runoff. Despite [...]
The leading world venue for showcasing the latest research on oceans, coasts and lakes is the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography Aquatic Sciences Meeting. The research programs sponsored by the NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) offer management solutions for harmful algae, hypoxia and regional ecosystem-scale research. At the 2013 [...]
On Nov 19, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) researchers met with local partners working on restoring Lake Erie’s ecosystem to review the unusual 2012 algal blooms, and assess the 2012 bloom forecast. This year there were unusual blooms along the center of the lake, both in late winter and in early summer. The [...]
A session in Great Lakes Week 2012, an annual gathering of the diverse groups leading the fight to restore the Great Lakes, centers on a research project funded by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. Dr. Don Scavia, lead investigator of the project “Forecasting the Causes and Consequences of Lake Erie Hypoxia” will be a panelist [...]