While most of nature is peacefully asleep during rigid Canadian winters, lakes are more than awake under their thick, icy covers.
University of Saskatchewan PhD student Emily Cavaliere and her supervisor Helen Baulch have found that a cleansing chemical process called “denitrification” helps maintain water quality of Prairie lakes during winter — a previous scientific unknown.
“My work has debunked scientists’ assumption that lakes are dormant until spring comes,” said Cavaliere. “Where there is water, there is life.”
By taking up nitrogen, “friendly” bacteria that live in the sediment of lakes eliminate this nutrient permanently from water. This denitrification process is crucial for maintaining water quality.
Continue reading at University of Saskatchewan.
Image via University of Saskatchewan.