The Lake Snow Toolbox: Developing a tool to analyse slime in NZ lakes
Lake snow is produced by a microscopic alga and is a major problem in Central Otago and Wanaka. The reason why this is growing in lakes in these regions is unclear, but due to the impacts it has on homes and businesses, Manaaki Whenua are developing a monitoring device for regional councils.
The laser-based device provides real time data and sends a beam out in the water, and characterises what bounces back by using the molecule structure to identify,