Resources - Aquarius-Systems

Aquarius Resource Center

Our up-to-date library of topics affecting lakes, reservoirs, and watersheds.

Plastic Ingestion and Entanglement Documented in Every Species of Marine Turtle

Study Finds Plastic Ingestion Is Widespread in Sea Turtles Off Australia’s Coast

Around 83% of green turtles and 86% of loggerhead turtles found off the coast of Queensland were found to have plastics within them, a study from Deakin, James Cook and Murdoch universities found. Researchers examined the contents of the stomach, intestines, cloaca and bladder of stranded or captured turtles collected from the Indian Ocean off

Published in Resources, Water Quality & Pollution

Tagged under: Australia, conservation, environmental research, great barrier reef, marine debris, marine life, microplastics, ocean pollution, plastic pollution, Queensland, sea turtles, wildlife ingestion

Road Salt Pollution Is Harming Water Wildlife and Infrastructure as Cities Test Alternatives

More and more environmental groups are making noise about the devastating impact winter salting has on the environment which is raising awareness and forcing lawmakers to look at alternative solutions. In Canada alone, the country applies five million tonnes (over 110 billion pounds) of salt during an average winter. This salt contaminates ground and freshwater,

Published in Resources, Water Quality & Pollution

Tagged under: beet juice deicer, cheese brine, chloride pollution, drinking water, groundwater contamination, infrastructure corrosion, invasive species, phragmites, road salt, salt runoff, sustainable deicers, water quality, wildlife impacts, winter maintenance

Barge transporting beer fermentation tanks along the Erie Canal.

How the Erie Canal Transformed Trade and Opened the American West

In order to open the country west of the Appalachian Mountains to settlers and to offer a cheap and safe way to carry produce to a market, the construction of a canal was proposed in 1807. In 1808 the state legislature funded a survey for a canal that would connect to Lake Erie. When the

Published in Blog, Resources

Tagged under: American canals, canal engineering, erie canal, inland waterways, New York history, trade routes, transportation history, U.S. history, water infrastructure, westward expansion

Rough waves crashing over rocks with a navigation marker visible in stormy conditions.

What Is a Nor’easter and Why These Powerful Storms Matter

A nor’easter is named for the winds that blow in from the northeast and drive the storm up the east coast along the Gulf Stream, a band of warm water that lies off the Atlantic Coast. Known for dumping heavy amounts of rain and snow, producing hurricane-force winds, and creating high surfs that cause severe