About a quarter of the lakes examined showed increasing oxygen in surface waters, which researchers says is a bad sign because it's likely attributable to increased algal blooms
June 3, 2021 Share
Oxygen levels have dropped in hundreds of lakes in the United States and Europe over the last four decades, a new study found.
And the authors said declining oxygen could lead to increased fish kills, algal blooms and methane emissions.
Researchers examined the temperature and dissolved oxygen the amount of oxygen in the water in nearly 400 lakes and found that declines were widespread. Their study, published Wednesday in the journal Nature, found dissolved oxygen fell 5.5 % in surface waters of these lakes and 18.6% in deep waters.
The authors said their findings suggest that warming temperatures and decreased water clarity from human activity are causing the oxygen decline.
Oxygen levels in the world's temperate freshwater lakes are declining rapidly faster than in the oceans a trend driven largely by climate change that threatens freshwater biodiversity and drinking water quality.
The World’s Lakes are Rapidly Losing Oxygen
Image Credit: Shutterstock.com / Yevhenii Chulovskyi
A new study examines surveys of lakes conducted over the past eighty years finding freshwater bodies are losing dissolved oxygen more quickly than the oceans.
Earth’s temperate freshwater lakes are losing oxygen much more quickly than its oceans, new research has revealed. The trend is being driven predominantly by climate change and threatens not only our supply of clean drinking water but also the biodiversity of some of the planet’s most beautiful ecosystems.
In fact, though freshwater lakes only account for about 3% of Earth’s surface they are home to a disproportionately large amount of our planet’s animal and plant life. That means that these changes in oxygen levels should be considered concerning on two fronts: as a demonstration of the impact of ongoing climate change and for their impact on global biodiversity.