Climate change effects in 24,000 US lakes

Each summer, more and more lake beaches are forced to close due to toxic algae blooms. While climate change is often blamed, new research suggests a more complex story: climate interacts with human activities like agriculture and urban runoff, which funnel excess nutrients into the water. The study sheds light on why some lakes are more vulnerable than others and how climate and human impacts interact -- offering clues to why the problem is getting worse. Researchers discovered key climate-related patterns in algal biomass levels and change through time for freshwater lakes. They have now used novel methods to create and analyze long-term datasets from open-access government resources and from satellite remote sensing.