Dr. North's research is used to develop recommendations to mitigate nutrient loading and algal blooms, critical for the protection of Missouri’s water resources. Water quality is important to health, economics, and prosperity, and defines who we are; so why are our lakes turning green? Worsening water quality and increases in noxious algal blooms are attributed to climate and agriculture - related increases in nutrients from the watershed.

Identification of factors controlling algal blooms will reduce their occurrence. Improved information is needed to avoid the public health catastrophe experienced by Toledo, Ohio residents when harmful algal blooms compromised their water supply. How will we maintain good quality water sources in a future of increased agricultural production, extreme flooding, climate change, and invasive species introductions?
My research defines the sources and timing of nutrient loading to lakes and determines how such loading can be modified by internal lake processes including the presence of zebra mussels.

Our research addresses three basic goals:

1. To demonstrate the interaction between light and nutrients on the year-round algal biomass and primary productivity in lakes.

2. To examine land use effects on the year-round external sources of nutrients.

3. To quantify internal sources of nutrients and their transformations.

This research will help us to better prepare for algal blooms in the future through the development of mitigation and management strategies to reduce nutrient loading; critical for the protection of Missouri’s water resources.