factors affecting water clarity MN

[popolarbear]

grant money is hard to come by these days.... but i agree. several of the city lakes have monsterous weed machines that cost millions and are suposed to increase water quality. they have this backwards.. compleately. i met a guy at the U doing research on PHospherous nutrient cycles in lakes. they were trying to increase a lakes productivity by understanding how phosphorous gets used in by the lake. those crystal clear lakes have no phosphorous. if you could majicaly remove the phosphorous out of the nutrient cycle of the lake... it would crystalize the water clarity.....and vis versa. some of those lakes that as a child everyone localy knew as crystal clear lakes are slowly becoming stagnant and green. lake calhoun as a result of removing direct drainage of storm sewers into that lake,.. is becoming much clearer. two weeks ago on one side it was still only 4ft vis. but i am under the impression that some parts of this lake are becoming dramitiacaly improved in water quality. esspecialy if you look at filiment alagae which is also a sign of pooor over nutrient rich water... on the north side of the lake these algaes are gone. still some present on  the south side. ..with some additional water improvements this lake will likely be the clearest lake in the metro.


"phosphorous cycle" is probably more important to the green water problem than any other single factor. in japan and the orrient. fish farmers regulary "walk" the bottom of their ponds to release phosphorus from the mud layer. the water will bloom with planktonic algae, then other types of dyphania. finaly larger aquatic predators will increase in numbers. the result is a larger yield of fish per acer...

if the mud layer were to be removed.possibly used as an organic farm fertilizer. the lake water quality would become unreal. milfoil would also be reduced as it doesnt do well in hard bottom.

some of our lakes also occasionaly become nutrient limited by c02 levels but that is less common. you will see platlets of calcium deposits on the surface of plants and algae that are starved for co2 and remove it from the minnerals of the water forming something called bio-genic decalcification.(my spellings bad. sorry)..

any ways interstings.somebody needs to invent a muck sucker!