|
Topic Name: Research vessel Blue Heron is used for taking water samples of nitrate
Category: Chemical
Research persons: Don Rice
Location: 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia 22230,, United States
Details
Nitrate levels in Lake Superior, which have been rising
steadily over the past century, are about 2.7 percent of the way toward making
the lake's water unsafe to drink, according to a study by University of
Minnesota (UMN) researchers.The study, funded by the National Science Foundation
(NSF), is published online this week in the journal Geophysical Research
Letters.The complexity of the causes underlying the increase makes it
difficult to predict when the water could become unhealthy. The trend is a
concern because Lake Superior contains 10 percent of the Earth's supply of
surface fresh water.
Although everyone is exposed to small, harmless amounts of
nitrate from eating fruits and vegetables, nitrate contamination of drinking
water can expose people to harmful levels.
Too much nitrate can reduce blood levels of oxygen, which
poses a risk to infants and children or adults with lung or cardiovascular
disease. Consuming excess nitrate over long periods of time is also suspected of
causing cancer.
A compound made from nitrogen and oxygen, nitrate is a
component of agricultural fertilizers and is generated by fossil fuel
combustion. Nitrate in Lake Superior has increased about five-fold since the
earliest measurements in 1906.
This level of nitrate doesn't reflect either post-World War II
increases in fertilizer and fossil fuels, which would tend to increase levels
faster, or the effects of the Clean Air Act of 1972, which would likely decrease
levels, says Robert Sterner, a limnologist at UMN and lead author of the study.
Sterner was recently appointed director of NSF's division of environmental
biology, and will be on leave from UMN.
Because of Lake Superior's vast size, the lake registers
change slowly and converts other forms of nitrogen within the lake--in decaying
plant matter and sewage--into nitrate.
"We're still a long way from drinking water advisories
based on nitrate for Lake Superior, but it's not too early to give this
situation more attention," Sterner says. "We cannot easily or quickly
reverse trends in this enormous lake."
"This study of Lake Superior tells us that if we ignore
results of basic research on lakes and the changing biochemistry of their
waters, we do so at our own peril," says Don Rice, director of NSF's
chemical oceanography program, which funded the research.
About Researchers-
Don Rice
Donald L. Rice, Director
Chemical Oceanography Program
Division of Ocean Sciences
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia 22230
Tel: 703-292-8582
Funded-
NSF
| Related research: |
An International Team has been Obtained Magnetic Atoms of Gold, Silver and Copper Using a Controlled Chemical Process, Brookhaven National Laboratory Scientists developed Atmospheric Measuring Device for Understanding Smog Formation, Discovered the newest superheavy element, element 118, Disposable sensor:assessing uranium contamination in the environment, and the effectiveness of remediation strategies., DOE Researchers Discover Surface Orbital "Roughness" in Manganites, Effect of plastic on water quality and odor., Future Batteries, Geothermal "Smoky Bay"is undervalued U.S. energy source, Integrative Chemistry and Soft Supramolecular Chemistry, New class of "smart fluids" capable of switching from gel to liquid upon exposure to ultraviolet light, New fuel cell design adds control, reduces complexity, NIST Chemists measure copper levels in zinc oxide nanowires during fabrication, Princeton Researchers Developed New Technique Allows Larger, Less Expensive Fast Printing of Microscopic Electronics, Researcher found Contamination from depleted uranium in urine 20 years later, Researchers found chirality of G-quadruplexes could grow to several hundred nanometers, Researchers have Developed New Polymer could Improve Semiconductor Manufacturing, Chip Packaging and also Dramatic Cost Savings, Researchers Say Three-dimensional photonic crystals will revolutionize telecommunications, Scientists Developed a Method to Formulate a Buffer that Maintains Desired pH at a Range of Low Temperatures, Scientists for the First Time Identify Amino Acetonitrile Near the Centre of Our Milky Way, Scientists say strange-behaving of crystals during phase transitions may impact on research, Scientists Surprised to Find a Highly Simplified Model Molecule that Makes Water so Special, Secrets of red tide, Some Fundamental Interactions of Matter May Turn Out to be Fundamentally Different than Thought, Storing hydrogen and producing abundant amino compounds for industrial applications, Texas Chemical Engineers Identified New Way to Control the Motion of Fluid Particles Through Tiny Channels
|
|
