Tracking Trends in Muskegon Lake Weather, Productivity and Hypoxia in Real-Time Using a Lake Observatory Buoy

Presentation Type

Poster/Portfolio

Presenter Major(s)

Biology

Mentor Information

Bopi Biddanda

Department

Annis Water Resource Institute (AWRI)

Location

Kirkhof Center KC 80

Start Date

11-4-2012 9:00 AM

Keywords

Information, Innovation, and Technology, Environment, Life Science, Physical Science, Technology

Abstract

Lakes are key freshwater reservoirs and sensitive sentinels of climate change. Upon close observation, lakes reveal themselves to be very complicated and dynamic ecosystems, and many aspects of how they work still remain unknown. Since May 2011 the Biddanda Lab has deployed a buoy in the lake equipped with sensors to continuously monitor the weather and water quality parameters in real-time. Although it has only been deployed recently, scientists at the institute have already observed aspects of the lake dynamics that were not clearly noticeable in previous years. Some questions I investigated using this buoy are: Do major storm events cause a boost or lag in lake productivity? How is increased productivity of surface water in the summer linked to bottom water hypoxia? I will also discuss the lack of a simple correlation between weather and productivity, and the discovery of persistent summertime lake-wide hypoxia in the bottom water of the lake.

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Apr 11th, 9:00 AM

Tracking Trends in Muskegon Lake Weather, Productivity and Hypoxia in Real-Time Using a Lake Observatory Buoy

Kirkhof Center KC 80

Lakes are key freshwater reservoirs and sensitive sentinels of climate change. Upon close observation, lakes reveal themselves to be very complicated and dynamic ecosystems, and many aspects of how they work still remain unknown. Since May 2011 the Biddanda Lab has deployed a buoy in the lake equipped with sensors to continuously monitor the weather and water quality parameters in real-time. Although it has only been deployed recently, scientists at the institute have already observed aspects of the lake dynamics that were not clearly noticeable in previous years. Some questions I investigated using this buoy are: Do major storm events cause a boost or lag in lake productivity? How is increased productivity of surface water in the summer linked to bottom water hypoxia? I will also discuss the lack of a simple correlation between weather and productivity, and the discovery of persistent summertime lake-wide hypoxia in the bottom water of the lake.