On World Water Day, we learn how Government guidelines across North America and Europe fail to protect lakes from salt pollution.
An international study led by Queen’s researcher Shelley Arnott (Biology) and Bill Hintz (Ecology) of the University of Toledo has found that the salinity of freshwater ecosystems caused by road de-icing salts, agriculture fertilizers, mining operations, and climate change is increasing worldwide, and current water quality guidelines are not effective.
The research, recently published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was conducted at 16 sites in four countries. Dozens of scientists across North America and Europe collaborated on this research, including Queen’s students — Danielle Greco, Brooke Rathie, Alex McClymont, and Haley Richardson.
Too much salt in freshwater is problematic because it triggers a massive loss of zooplankton, a major food source for fish, and an increase in algae. Even lakes that met the lowest chloride thresholds established by governments in Canada, the U.S., and throughout Europe experience the negative effects of salination…