Geochemistry in Conestogo Lake and Woolwich Reservoir

GeoNetwork record: www.gwfnet.net/geonetwork/srv/eng/catalog.search#/metadata/ba98c352-2cc0-496b-8699-3e168eaf1ff7

Standard field and laboratory methods.

Routine field sampling of Conestogo Lake and Woolwich Reservoir. This data is collected as part of the Pillar 3 GWF project "FORMBLOOM: Forecasting Tools and Mitigation Options for Diverse Bloom-Affected Lakes".

Drinking water supplies have been closed due to harmful algal blooms along with other widespread impacts such as loss of cottage real estate value, impacts on tourism & recreation. Cyanotoxin exposure can lead to death and sublethal effects that may include endocrine disruption, gastrointestinal problems, neurodegenerative diseases, inflammatory processes, and cancer. Solving the problem of blooms requires an understanding of how the physical environment links to geochemistry and bloom ecology, and this understanding must exist on the timescale upon which blooms develop and collapse – minutes to hours to weeks. Here we have monitored multiple sites, analyzing on different timescales changes in the algal community, chemistry, thermal structure of the ecosystem, and toxins.

Conestogo Lake (http://www4.nrcan.gc.ca/search-place-names/unique/0c358d80849c20c32c21d289c8548e51)