Eutrophication and Recovery

The classic whole lake experiments Claudia referred to were published in Science as Eutrophication and Recovery in Experimental Lakes: Implications for Lake Management. The lead author, David Schindler, was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2006 and they have a nice profile of him that explains some of the background to the experiments and their impact.

Aerial photographs captured the dramatic results: the phosphorous-treated half of the lake had become green and murky because of algal blooms, whereas the other half of the lake remained clear. Pictures can speak a thousand words, and the stark contrast of the two sides of Lake 226 caught the public's eye and policymakers' collective ear.