To better understand the complex factors that threaten lake water quality, scientists need data on many lakes in various environmental settings. Now, a new "geography of lake water quality," called LAGOS, is allowing scientists to understand lakes in ways that will better inform water policy and management.
The resulting database is the work of dozens of people who collected and processed water quality data, thousands of others who shared water quality data, and more than 15 researchers who worked together for several years. The LAGOS team gathered information for 50,000 lakes in 17 states from digital maps -- melding land use, geology and climate data -- and combined it with water quality data. Added Richard Yuretich, program director for NSF's Critical Zone Observatory program, "This information on thousands of lakes will enable reliable analyses of water quality trends over space and time. Added co-author Corinna Gries, an information scientist at the University of Wisconsin, "This is a great example of how environmental research can leverage a wide range of information, such as map-based data from Google Earth, and combine it with water samples collected by scientists and citizens." To think that computers have advanced beyond games and social media is already a feat within itself. Now, we can actually use the advancement of analytical technology to further our knowledgeable about the freshwater containment within the United States. Also, we will eventually be using this technology to check our global freshwater numbers and the specific traits that are unique to that one body of water. One could use this ti compare PH levels of all of the lakes, compare the number of unique species picked up by micro-frequency waves, and compare lakes that have frequent human tourists and lakes that are completely remote.
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December 2017
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