Lake Mendota

Known limnological research facility

The Lake Mendota is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and is bordered to the north at its capital Madison. The lake is relatively small and flat. It is fed by the Yahara River, which flows to the north and flows out again to the southeast.

Of Lake Mendota by numerous limnological studies and research became known. He is considered one of the birthplaces of modern limnology.

Since the beginning of the 20th century urban wastewater were discharged into the lake. As a result, the lake suffered increasingly from eutrophication. From 1912 to 1958 an attempt was made to control with copper sulfate, the overgrowth of the lake by algae. Although this algal blooms has been effectively suppressed, but the dissolved copper rallied as insoluble copper carbonate in the lower layers of the sediment. Finally, a portion of the effluent was diverted to the north adjacent lakes. Over time, these lakes experienced the same fate: they too were eutrophic with time. To cope with the situation ultimately led to the waste water into the Yahara River.

The ice season lasts about three and a half months in the winter, the entire lake is covered with a thick layer of ice. During the winter the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the epilimnion is relatively high. During the summer, the dissolved oxygen concentration falls to 1-2 mg / l

• Lake in North America
• Lake in Wisconsin
• River Mississippi River system