Erie Dead Zone

A research effort has begun to study the "dead zone" - a region of low oxygen - that occurs during the late summer/early fall in the central basin of Lake Erie.

The two-year project - called the International Field Years on Lake Erie - will involve 10 research vessels, 14 observation moorings and scientists from both the U.S. and Canada.

Researchers hope to characterize the magnitude and timing of oxygen depletion- or hypoxia - in the lake, in hopes of forecasting when future events will occur.  They will also assess the impact of invasive species on the lake's ecosystem.

"Since Lake Erie is the most heavily impacted of the Great Lakes, it posed the most critical subject for the lake-wide scope of the study," said Stephen Brandt, director of the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Lab. "Much of what we learn in this study can be applied to solve problems elsewhere in the Great Lakes as well."

The above satellite image shows Lake Erie on April 15, 2005, at 12:44 p.m. EDT.

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-- LiveScience Staff

Credit: NOAA/University of Wisconsin, Madison