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Not-So-Permanent Permafrost

By Guest PostOctober 26, 2012Environmentalaska, arctic permafrost, atmosphere, carbon, chemical cycles, climate change, climate prediction, climate warming, director, earth, ecosystems, Environment, fairbanks, frozen ground, gelisols, geological survey, jennifer harden, lakes, marcia mcnutt, mikhail kanevsiy, model, nitrogen, organic matter, peaty, rivers, scenarios, scientist, soil scientist, university, US, usgs, warmer planet, warming phenomenon, water resources

MENLO PARK, Calif. — As much as 44 billion tons of nitrogen and 850 billion tons of carbon stored in arctic permafrost, or frozen ground, could be released into the environment as the region begins to thaw over the next century as a result of a warmer planet according to a new study led by the U.S. Geological Survey. This nitrogen and carbon are likely to impact ecosystems, the atmosphere, and water resources including rivers and lakes. For context, this is roughly the amount of carbon stored in the atmosphere today.

The release of carbon and nitrogen in permafrost could exacerbate the warming phenomenon and will impact water systems on land and offshore according to USGS scientists and their domestic and international collaborators. The previously unpublished nitrogen figure is useful for scientists who are making climate predictions with computer climate models, while the carbon estimate is consistent and gives more credence to other scientific studies with similar carbon estimates. (more…)

Practical Tool Can ‘Take Pulse’ of Blue-Green Algae Status in Lakes

By Guest PostJune 12, 2012Environmentalgal blooms, alum creek, beach managers, blue green algae, buck creek, chlorophyll, cyanobacteria, deer creek, delaware, east fork, eutrophic lakes, feedback loop, fluorometer, gastrointestinal illness, jason marion, jiyoung lee, lake logan, lakes, madison lake, neurological problems, nutrient levels, ohio state, ohio state university, organic pollution, oxygen, ph, phycocyanin, phycocyanin levels, pigment, population growth, public health, secchi disk, septic systems, timothy buckley, toxin, toxin microcystin, urbanization, water resources, WHO

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Scientists have designed a screening tool that provides a fast, easy and relatively inexpensive way to predict levels of a specific toxin in lakes that are prone to blue-green algal blooms.

Blue-green algae is not your average pond scum – rather than consisting of plant-like organisms, blue-green algae actually are cyanobacteria, and some species are linked to the production and release of the toxin microcystin into the water. Human exposure to the toxin through drinking or recreational water contact can threaten public health by causing liver damage, neurological problems and gastrointestinal illness in humans. (more…)

Tag Archives: water resources

Not-So-Permanent Permafrost

Practical Tool Can ‘Take Pulse’ of Blue-Green Algae Status in Lakes