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"Are Algal Blooms Getting Worse?"

Virtual Badger Talk

Dr. Grace Wilkinson discusses the surprising trends in algal blooms from lakes around the Midwest and what's driving that change - both for the worse and for the better.

Severe algal blooms threaten both ecosystem and human health. With climate change and other disturbances intensifying, it’s reasonable to assume that algal blooms are getting worse. Dr. Grace Wilkinson discusses the surprising trends in algal blooms from lakes around the Midwest and what’s driving that change—both for the worse and for the better.

Dr. Wilkinson is a limnologist who studies the dynamic links between lakes and their surrounding landscapes. Her research focuses on harmful algal blooms, ecosystem resilience, and nutrient cycling in lakes. Dr. Wilkinson’s group uses whole-ecosystem experiments and long-term data to understand how lakes are responding to climate change and other human-caused disturbances to better manage our freshwater resources.

August is National Water Quality Month, which was created by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2005. In the wake of 1972's Clean Water Act and 1974's Safe Drinking Water Act, national focus was turned to our most precious resource - water - and the ways everyday citizens can support access to clean drinking water for everyone. Visit Wisconsin Historical Society's traveling display "Great Lakes Small Streams: How Water Shapes Wisconsin" at Central Library from August 7 through September 4. This fascinating exhibit explores our state's long relationship with water & the impact we've had on our vast waterways.

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