Health officials warn of dangerous algae blooms in the region koze.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from koze.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Credit NOAA, Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory
Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) are forecasting the cyanobacterial bloom in western Lake Erie is likely to be smaller than average this year. But, it’s early in the season and things could change.
At this point, less precipitation in the Maumee River watershed has reduced the amount of nutrients that are washed into the western basin of Lake Erie. Those nutrients encourage cyanobacterial blooms. A series of storms could change that. In June, NOAA expects a return to normal rainfall.
Above average temperatures could also make a difference.
6 APRIL 2021
While some blue-green algae (or more accurately - cyanobacteria) are critical to us for their nitrogen-fixing abilities, others can also become dangerous pests of our own making.
Climate change and agricultural run-off are causing a once normal environmental process to spiral out of control more often, and a new study has shown that a particularly dangerous toxin produced by cyanobacteria is not just hitching a ride in water, but also in our air in some cases.
The toxin, called anatoxin-a (ATX) or Very Fast Death Factor (no, we re not kidding), does what it says on the tin - kills things fast. If you are unfortunate enough to be exposed it can cause a loss of coordination, paralysis, or death in humans and other animals.
One Bell County resident says his portion of Clear Creek is no longer clear, but rather polluted, and is asking for solutions from state and local officials.
Wayne Duncanâs 300-acre property in southern Bell County includes a portion of Clear Creek which he says is murky and toxic these days, thanks, in part, to discharges from a neighboring wastewater treatment plant in Copperas Cove.
âItâs not clear anymore, thatâs for sure,â Duncan said of the creek Tuesday.
Duncan is a sixth-generation Bell County resident who remembers a time when generations of Duncan children would play in the clear waters of Clear Creek on his property in southern Bell County, 500 yards away from the Burnet County line. âThis is where all the kids in the family learned how to swim and caught their first fish on a cane pole,â Duncan told the Herald Tuesday during a tour of his property. âWe used to have family reunions down here, weâd do dominoes and washers, and
Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes for 2021 go to four female and six male researchers
Four female and six male researchers are to receive the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize this year, the top award for early career investigators in Germany. This was the result of a decision made by a selection committee appointed by the DFG and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The prizes are each worth €20,000 and will be presented at an award ceremony on 4 May that is to be held virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prizes 2021 go to:
Dr. Julia Borst, Romance Literary Studies, University of Bremen