A Charcoal Scrub for Drinking Water
Most of us don’t think much about water. It’s just the twist of a handle away when we want to take a shower or make that first pot of coffee in the morning. But behind the scenes at the local water plant, water treatment professionals are hard at work to make sure that water is safe to use, and especially safe to drink.
Columbus Events Bring Together Stone Lab Supporters
It was a packed few days in the middle of February as Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab staff organized two appreciation events for Stone Lab alumni and donors in Columbus.
Tracking Oxygen in Lake Erie’s Central Basin
Hypoxia, an area of low-oxygen water, develops in the central basin of Lake Erie during the summer and early fall. It’s caused when bacteria at the lake bottom decompose dead algae and use up oxygen in the process faster than it can be replenished from the surface or from photosynthesis. When combined with stratification – the formation of a sharp border between an upper warm layer and a cold bottom layer of water – that region of the lake becomes hypoxic (low in oxygen) or even anoxic (no oxygen). This can lead to fish kills and other negative impacts on the ecosystem.
Stopping Algal Bloom Toxins at the Kitchen Tap
There’s already a lot of activity going on in the aftermath of the 2014 harmful algal bloom (HAB) in Lake Erie, which left residents in the city of Toledo without drinking water. Water treatment plants have added additional testing for the algal toxin microcystin that caused Toledo’s water shutdown, scientists are monitoring HABs as they develop, and backup intakes let larger plants avoid pulling in potentially contaminated water altogether. A University of Toledo team led by Dr. Glenn Lipscomb is taking that activity one step further by showing that reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, an essential component of drinking water purification systems installed under kitchen sinks in many homes, can remove algal toxins from drinking water.
Ohio Sea Grant and the NOAA Marine Debris Program Organize PSA Challenge for Ohio Students
Ohio Sea Grant and the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s Great Lakes office invite students in grades 9-12 from the Lake Erie region of Ohio to participate in the 2018 Ohio Marine Debris Challenge “Communicating for a Clean Future.” Student groups will create public service announcement (PSA) videos that focus on inspiring others to address marine debris.
Lake Erie CSMI 2017 Summaries
The Cooperative Science and Monitoring Initiative (CSMI) is a bi-national effort by the United States and Canada, pursuant to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, to coordinate Great Lakes research and monitoring activities that provide resource managers with the science necessary to support management decisions.
Ohio Sea Grant Researcher Receives NOAA Grant to Study When Algal Blooms Become Harmful
Dr. Justin Chaffin, research scientist for The Ohio State University’s Stone Lab and Ohio Sea Grant, along with partners across Ohio and Michigan, has received funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to study what causes Lake Erie algal blooms to become toxic. The study, which will incorporate both computer modeling and hands-on laboratory experiments, is focused on providing more guidance to water utilities on when they should plan to treat drinking water for algal toxins.
Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative Year 2 Report
In the summer of 2014, toxic algae made people near Lake Erie afraid to use their water. After the crisis was over, front-line state agencies in Ohio worked with science teams at Ohio universities to fill in critical gaps in our knowledge—things that were still unknown about tracking and dealing with harmful algal blooms.
Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab Release Free Solar Energy Curriculum for Grades 7-12
A new set of lessons from Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Lab introduces students in grades 7-12 to the basics of solar energy via hands-on activities. The free curriculum is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards and Ohio’s Model Science Curriculum, and is available to download at go.osu.edu/teachers.
Ohio Sea Grant Research Continues Development of Sediment Cleanup Technique Using Ultrasound
Ohio Sea Grant researchers are continuing to work on a method to remove contamination from Lake Erie rivers and streams, using ultrasound and chemical agents that bind to contaminants and render them inactive on the river bottom. The eventual goal is to treat contaminated sediments right where they are, instead of having to dredge them up for treatment or disposal. Dr. Linda Weavers and her team at The Ohio State University have built a basic model of a river cross-section in their lab, and are moving from experiments where the contaminated sediment samples are mixed into water to one where the sediment has settled into the bottom of a glass column, closer to how they would find contamination in an actual river or lake.
Ohio Sea Grant Researchers Track Algal Toxins in Lake Erie Fish and Ohio Produce
Researchers funded by Ohio Sea Grant and the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative (HABRI) are tracing contamination from harmful algal bloom toxins in food, specifically fish caught in Lake Erie and vegetables watered with lake water. They have so far found some toxin in their samples, but emphasize that amounts are too low to raise immediate concerns. Drs. Stuart Ludsin, Jiyoung Lee and Jay Martin at The Ohio State University are developing and refining methods to test for microcystin, a major toxin produced by harmful algal blooms, in fish and produce.
Inching Closer to Solutions
“We start with simple systems, and then we try to build on those as we understand what’s happening in them. Because if you just go to the complicated system right away, you can observe effects, but you can’t really figure out what they’re related to.”
That’s Linda Weavers, a professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering at The Ohio State University, talking about one of the fundamental rules of doing science: one step at a time. Weavers and her team are studying the potential use of ultrasound to clean contaminated sediments in Lake Erie and its tributaries, a complicated process no matter what approach is taken.
Shining a Light on Solar Energy
Over the past few years, Stone Lab’s solar pavilion and the solar panels on the Classroom Building have been a staple view from Put-in-Bay harbor on South Bass Island. Aside from the positive environmental impact, the set-up, along with solar thermal tubes on the Dining Hall roof, offer an exciting opportunity for research and education into solar energy, and a newly developed Solar Technology Curriculum is the first to put that plan into action.
Twine Line Student Spotlights
These student spotlights on the back cover of Ohio Sea Grant’s Twine Line magazine usually introduced notable Stone Lab alumni and their post-college careers.
Microcystin: It May Not Just Be In The Water
Microcystin, one of the major toxins produced by harmful algal blooms (HABs) has been implicated in a number of health issues, from skin rashes to liver and nervous system damage. A main focus of preventing these negative health impacts has been limiting exposure to contaminated water, but researchers at The Ohio State University have been looking at things from a different angle: microcystin exposure from food.
A Champion for the Castle
In 1972, zoology graduate student Tom Hall spent a summer at Stone Lab, studying everything from ornithology to fish ecology while spending nights in Cooke Castle, then the men’s dormitory. Today, emergency medicine physician Dr. Thomas Hall, who just retired from a position as medical director at an insurance company, is working with Ohio Sea Grant and the Friends of Stone Lab (FOSL) to raise funds for renovations that could turn that same Cooke Castle into a unique meeting destination.
Ohio Sea Grant Hosts An Evening with Stone Lab to Benefit Ohio State’s Island Campus
Ohio Sea Grant and the Friends of Stone Laboratory (FOSL) will be hosting the 19th Annual Winter Program and Silent Auction from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. February 7, 2017, at The Ohio State University’s Longaberger Alumni House (2200 Olentangy River Road, Columbus, Ohio). Learn about Stone Lab and Ohio Sea Grant, meet former students, and bid in the silent auction to support scholarships for future Stone Lab summer sessions! High school and college students can also win a Stone Lab scholarship covering room and board for a one-week course.
Ohio Sea Grant Research Keeps Tap Water Safer from Harmful Algal Blooms
In the aftermath of the 2014 harmful algal bloom (HAB) in Lake Erie, which left residents in the city of Toledo without drinking water, there’s been a lot of activity around making sure something similar doesn’t happen again. Water treatment plants have added additional testing for the algal toxin microcystin that caused Toledo’s water shutdown, scientists are monitoring HABs as they develop, and backup intakes let larger plants avoid pulling in potentially contaminated water altogether. But remembering the news reports of people stuck without water for days, some concerned citizens may still wonder “what if?”
How’d That Get There?
Phosphorus in Lake Erie is known to contribute to harmful algal blooms (HABs) by providing the cyanobacteria that cause them with a major nutrient they need to grow. Management efforts often focus on reducing the amount of phosphorus that reaches the lake, but targeting those efforts can be difficult when phosphorus could be coming from a wide range of sources.
However, some researchers are digging deeper into ways to identify where exactly that problematic phosphorus is really coming from, drilling down to the molecular level by looking at what other elements are bound to phosphorus in the Lake Erie watershed and finding clues to its origins that way.
Lake Erie Charter Captains Play a Major Role in Water Quality Sampling
Finding time and money to take regular water quality samples in a space as large as Lake Erie’s western basin can be difficult for even the most dedicated researchers. But sometimes, help shows up on a lab doorstep and is too good to turn away.
That was the case in 2012, when a group of Lake Erie charter boat captains approached the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) to ask how they could help monitor and improve water quality in the lake on which their businesses depend. They had seen the impact the severe 2011 harmful algal bloom (HAB) had had on their fishing charters and on other Lake Erie businesses, and wanted to contribute to improving the health of the lake.