Our Study Lakes

To answer our research questions thoroughly, we are working at several different levels of detail. First, we are studying two specific lakes in depth, along with the watersheds around them:

A harmful phytoplankton bloom in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, one of the Virginia Tech team's study sites. Blooms such as these, which occur throughout most of the summer in Lake Mendota, severely degrade water quality. Photo credit: Cayelan Carey.
A harmful phytoplankton bloom in Lake Mendota, Wisconsin, one of the project’s study lakes. Blooms such as these, which occur throughout most of the summer in Lake Mendota, severely degrade water quality. Photo credit: Cayelan Carey.
  • Lake Mendota, Wisconsin
  • Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire

Collaborators on our project also bring insight into our research questions from their work on:

  • Oneida Lake, New York
  • Lake Lillinonah, Connecticut
  • Acton Lake, Ohio

In addition, we investigate how our findings from these lakes could apply to a broad set of lakes spanning the Upper Midwest, North Central, and Northeastern United States using the extensive LAGOS database.

Our research is also tightly connected with the Global Lakes Ecological Observatory Network (GLEON), an international network of limnologists, ecologists, computer scientists, and information technologists.