More clear water lakes to emerge from European climate change
German and Dutch researchers have found that climate changes over the past 40 years have led to a one per cent rise in the temperature of European lakes, triggering ecosystem changes which lead to clearer water. The results were obtained by Dutch ecologist Martin Scheffer at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, working in collaboration with Dutch and German research institutes. The researchers found that this shift in temperature has a major effect on lake ecosystems and may give rise to more clear water lakes across the continent. Water-filtering zooplankton flourish in the warmer temperatures. In turn, submerged aquatic plants benefit from the warmth and improved light conditions in the clearer, filtered water. As these plants also 'clean' the water and make it clearer, sustained temperature increases in lake water may lead to some murky lakes becoming permanently clear.