With Warming Lake Water, Toledo’s Algae Problem will Get Worse

[unhappycamper]

http://www.juancole.com/2014/08/warming-toledos-problem.html

With Warming Lake Water, Toledo’s Algae Problem will Get Worse
By contributors | Aug. 7, 2014

BS News Hour: “Conversation with Richard Stumpf of NOAA on the science behind the algal bloom.”

Stumpf points out that the algae like war water and so this problem will get worse with global warming. Also if climate change leads to more rain in the Erie region, that precipitation could wash phosphates from the soil into Lake Erie at an accelerated rate.

PBS News Hour: “Behind the Algae bloom that’s left Toledo without safe tap water”

[BKLawyer]

1. Having listed to the discussion ...

He clearly indicated that the change in water temps was not significant enough to make a difference at this point. Furthermore, as I live just North of Toledo ... I can say for a fact that temperatures could not have been a problem given the extreme cold weather we had early on, and through the Spring, and even now we are well below average for the year (our average temps have been in the 70's all summer it seems, with far too few days even making it into the low 80's and we were nowhere near having a typical average of 84 for July) ... so lake temps are not above average at all.

He further stated that Toledo's problem is severe this year ... because of wind patterns that pushed the bloom inland and concentrated the bloom, raising the toxin levels.

He said the potential is there, if there is increased rainfall then there could be more phosphates that would wash in, increasing algae blooms. He also stated that much more research is needed on the issue.