Posted on Sep 19, 2022
Scientists work to keep Oregon’s Crater Lake clear for years to come
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On a warm August day, aquatic biologists Scott Girdner and Josh Sprague lie prone on the deck of the research vessel Neuston. Holding life jackets tented over their heads to block the sun’s glare, they gaze into the sapphire depths of Crater Lake, Oregon’s only national park. As they stare, Biological Science Technician Nate Akers operates a cable that lowers a black and white disk deep into the water.
“I’m out!” Sprague calls out, when he can no longer see the disk. Akers lowers the disk a few more meters, then starts pulling it back up.
“Out!” Sprague shouts again, once it comes into view.
This simple but elegant exercise, called the Secchi depth test, is used to measure the transparency of this incredibly clear, incredibly blue lake. The greater the depth at which a person can see the disk, the clearer the water.
“I’m out!” Sprague calls out, when he can no longer see the disk. Akers lowers the disk a few more meters, then starts pulling it back up.
“Out!” Sprague shouts again, once it comes into view.
This simple but elegant exercise, called the Secchi depth test, is used to measure the transparency of this incredibly clear, incredibly blue lake. The greater the depth at which a person can see the disk, the clearer the water.
Scientists work to keep Oregon’s Crater Lake clear for years to come
Posted from opb.org
Science
Climate Change
Water
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel good morning Brother William, solid-read/share. Thanks for sharing good buddy, keep'em coming like the mighty Niagra Falls, Waterfalls Brother!!!
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."In recent winters, the cold layer hasn’t been forming as regularly, and the “mixing events” have been happening less frequently. Modeling suggests they could cease altogether.
“Mixing is part of a normal cycle that drives life in the lake; it sets up everything: chemistry, clarity, biological productivity,” says Buktenica. “If you cut that out, it’s about as drastic change as you’re going to get.”
Buktenica and Girdner can’t predict exactly what will happen if the deep-water mixing events stop. The lake might even become clearer, at first. But because oxygenated water isn’t being pulled down to the bottom of the lake, a “dead zone” could form there, which could spur fish kills when the oxygen-poor water is finally released upward.
The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve “unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park Service” for present and future generations. Crater Lake is a national treasure. If anything threatens its iconic clarity, the monitoring team will be there to track it — and, if the threat is human-caused, to help mitigate it, if possible.
While the startling changes the monitoring team are tracking are a sober reminder that even cherished and protected places may be touched by climate change, they also underscore the importance of the monitoring program, and the value of having decades of data to help put these trends in context.
But there’s another reason to keep tabs on Crater Lake, says Buktenica.
“Virtually all of the large lakes in the world suffer multiple impacts from local, regional, and global development, making it more difficult to tease out the specific impacts from any one issue,” says Buktenica. Because Crater Lake is so pristine, it can be used as an early warning system, helping researchers detect and study large-scale and global issues that are likely affecting other waterbodies, too."
..."In recent winters, the cold layer hasn’t been forming as regularly, and the “mixing events” have been happening less frequently. Modeling suggests they could cease altogether.
“Mixing is part of a normal cycle that drives life in the lake; it sets up everything: chemistry, clarity, biological productivity,” says Buktenica. “If you cut that out, it’s about as drastic change as you’re going to get.”
Buktenica and Girdner can’t predict exactly what will happen if the deep-water mixing events stop. The lake might even become clearer, at first. But because oxygenated water isn’t being pulled down to the bottom of the lake, a “dead zone” could form there, which could spur fish kills when the oxygen-poor water is finally released upward.
The mission of the National Park Service is to preserve “unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park Service” for present and future generations. Crater Lake is a national treasure. If anything threatens its iconic clarity, the monitoring team will be there to track it — and, if the threat is human-caused, to help mitigate it, if possible.
While the startling changes the monitoring team are tracking are a sober reminder that even cherished and protected places may be touched by climate change, they also underscore the importance of the monitoring program, and the value of having decades of data to help put these trends in context.
But there’s another reason to keep tabs on Crater Lake, says Buktenica.
“Virtually all of the large lakes in the world suffer multiple impacts from local, regional, and global development, making it more difficult to tease out the specific impacts from any one issue,” says Buktenica. Because Crater Lake is so pristine, it can be used as an early warning system, helping researchers detect and study large-scale and global issues that are likely affecting other waterbodies, too."
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