Troubled Waters

Troubled Waters

Source: earthobservatory

9/25/2021

It was once a source of great abundance—particularly fossil fuels and fish—for the people of Venezuela. Now Lake Maracaibo is mostly abundant with pollution from leaking oil and excess nutrients.

Spanning 13,000 square kilometers (5,000 square miles) in northwestern Venezuela, Lake Maracaibo is one of South America’s largest lakes and one of the oldest in the world. Though it was filled with freshwater thousands of year ago, Maracaibo is now an estuarine lake connected to the Gulf of Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea by a narrow strait. That strait was significantly expanded in the 1930–50s by dredging for ship traffic. Now the north end of the lake is brackish, while the south end is mostly fresh due to abundant flows from nearby rivers.

In satellite images acquired in September 2021, Lake Maracaibo was swirling with shades of green, tan, and gray that traced the flow of currents and eddies. The sources of those colors were algae, river sediment outflows, and crude oil leaks. The image at the top of this page was acquired by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite on September 25. The Operational Land Imager (OLI) on Landsat 8 observed the scene below on September 10.

Continue...

News Id		Source	Stamp	country
4476	Scientists Observe 'Fastest' Evolution; Tiny Fish Evolved To Tolerate Colder Temperature In Three Years	Underwatertimes	2010-08-04	CA
4477	Scientists plumb the depths to ask how many fish in the sea	theguardian	2010-08-02	UK
4478	Dredge bill for Cow Creek could be $1 million	sarniathisweek	2020-11-25	CA
4479	Sarnia council agrees clogged Cow Creek needs immediate attention	blackburnnews	2020-10-27	CA
4480	На Ямале возбудили уголовное дело за незаконную добычу краснокнижной рыбы	tass	2021-03-01	RU
4481	Government of Canada launches international program to track illegal fishing using satellite technology	Fisheries and Oceans Canada	2021-02-24	CA
4482	Ice Fishing Gear Stolen, Huts Vandalized	Fish'n Canada	2021-02-25	CA
4483	Grieg Seafood, Innovasea join $20 million Canada seafood development project	intrafish	2021-02-26	CA
4484	265 fish harvested on day two of the 2021 sturgeon spearing season	FOX 11 News	2021-02-14	UK
4485	Swimming With the Fishes: Anglers Tangle Over 'Skishing'	The Wall Street	2010-07-26	US
4486	New boat catch limit could be one fish a year	PerthNow	2010-07-27	AU
4487	WWF: Mekong Dams Threaten Rare Giant Catfish; 'The Clock Is Ticking'	Underwatertimes	2010-07-27	KN
4488	Shadowing fishermen's nets with a robot sub	hcn	2010-07-05	US
4489	What's up fish face? The £40,000 carp that really does look human	dailymail	2010-07-03	UK
4490	GM salmon that grows twice normal rate set to get approval for eating	mirror	2010-06-28	UK
4491	Male fish in Mexico sports sexy 'moustache'	BBC News	2010-06-28	UK
4492	Angler gets closer to world ice fishing record: 47-inch tiger muskie caught on Otisco Lake	syracuse	2021-02-16	US
4493	A fish was caught on camera attacking and eating a baby bird	CBC Radio	2021-02-15	CA
4494	Gender-Bending Fish Problem In Colorado Creek Mitigated By Treatment Plant Upgrade; 'A Canary In A Mine Shaft'	Underwatertimes	2010-06-21	US
4495	Sturgeon: On the edge of extinction	independent	2011-10-23	UK
4496	Scottish salmon scheme nets nature award	BBC News	2010-06-04	UK
4497	Angler lands monster catfish weighing in at a massive 250lb	Daily Mail	2010-06-04	UK
4498	Wyoming man earns rare ‘Ultimate Angler’ distinction after catching tenth trophy class fish	oilcity news	2021-02-10	US
4499	Gigantic freshwater fish from Amazon found in Caloosahatchee River	Fort Myers News-Press	2021-02-11	US
4500	Fish Swallows Eel In Bizarre Video - But There's More To It Than Meets The Eye	ndtv	2021-02-11	US

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