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
4651	‘Everybody’s worst nightmare’: Bering Sea fishermen on edge after COVID-19 closes second plant	KUCB - Unalaska & Nat Herz. AKPM - Anchorage	2021-01-22	US
4652	Poaching on River Trent up as people catch fish to eat during lockdown	staffordshire	2021-01-22	UK
4653	Passionate local angler says 'fishing is not just for boys and men'	orilliamatters	2021-01-21	CA
4654	Unknown sumo champion-class fish species found off Shizuoka	asahi	2021-01-26	JP
4655	B.C. wild salmon in short supply: report	ctvnews	2008-06-16	CA
4656	School Of Robofish Provides Basis For Underwater Robot Teams; 'Don't Need Oxygen'	Underwatertimes	2008-06-06	US
4657	‘Extremely rare’ fish sold at auction for $3,425	usatoday	2021-01-25	US
4658	A Montana Sampler: 5 Unique Fisheries in 5 Days	Montana Angler	2021-02-01	US
4659	Researchers Document Rapid, Dramatic 'Reverse Evolution' In The Threespine Stickleback Fish	underwatertimes	2008-05-15	US
4660	Biologist takes B.C. Liberals to court to save wild salmon	straight	2008-05-06	CA
4661	Researchers Develop Glow-in-the-dark Fish Powered By Artificial Sugar	Underwatertimes	2008-05-04	US
4662	Henry County man hauls in over 20,000 pounds of fish	wbbjtv	2021-02-01	US
4663	No sex for all-girl fish species	bbc	2008-04-23	UK
4664	Angler catches heavyweight carp	bbc	2008-04-18	UK
4665	I caught a fish bigger than me... honestly!	Liverpool Echo	2008-04-18	UK
4666	Maryland Angler Snags State Record 5-foot-long Blue Catfish; 'We Needed A Larger Net'	Underwatertimes	2008-03-26	US
4667	Galway fish farm no longer allowed to bathe diseased salmon in lake water	irishtimes	2021-01-18	IR
4668	Angler paid nearly $50,000 for fishing the Columbia and Snake rivers	tri-cityherald	2021-01-16	US
4669	Law enforcement reviewing flipper flounder	gloucester times	2021-01-20	US
4670	Feds warn entire salmon season could be halted	Chronicle Staff Writer	2012-02-09	US
4671	Researchers Find Aquaculture Promising Method to Grow Black Sea Bass	phys.org	2012-02-09	CA
4672	Great Lakes fish soak in new poison	The Muskegon Chronicle	2008-03-09	US
4673	Labs don't have to report 'Frankenfish' escapes: Audit	the star	2008-03-06	US
4674	Antarctic fish's winter 'sleep'	bbc	2008-08-05	CA
4675	Nova Scotia takes no harm, no foul approach to fish farm lease violations	cbc	2021-01-19	CA

186 of [218 - pages.]