![]() ![]() The swamp “was the kidneys of the area, filtering the nutrients and making sure the water Lake Erie is receiving was clean,” said Vázquez-Ortega.Ĭolonizers sick of the knee-deep mud and clouds of mosquitoes gradually drained the area in the mid-1800s, easing navigation but increasing the export of sediments from the land. The research is rooted in northwestern Ohio, a region that formerly boasted a 4,000-square-kilometer marsh dubbed the Great Black Swamp. The research is especially timely as a new law leaves millions of tons of sediment piling up at Ohio’s ports. ![]() Instead of applying more fertilizers upstream, farmers could remove nutrients from the lake by mixing Lake Erie sediment into their soils. Whereas fertilizers are a source of Lake Erie’s annual algae issue, research from Vázquez-Ortega’s lab suggests agriculture could be a partial solution, too. “You’re cooking a perfect soup for having a very productive lake,” said Angélica Vázquez-Ortega, an assistant professor of geochemistry at Bowling Green State University. In addition, the lake is the final destination for fertilizers washing off of area farms-that’s a recipe for excess photosynthesis. Temperatures above 60☏ can trigger algal blooms, and Lake Erie- shallowest and warmest of the Great Lakes- hit nearly 80☏ in 2020. Like many lakes in agricultural areas, Lake Erie produces thick, smelly algae mats when the water gets warm. In 2014, a Lake Erie algal bloom sent a cloud of toxins into Toledo, Ohio’s water supply, forcing the city to shut down water service to 400,000 residents. ![]()
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