Contaminants of the Great Lakes

This book reviews the globally important freshwater resource of the Great Lakes, which is currently threatened by contaminants that compromise water quality and impact its ecological and economic health. Divided into four parts, this volume covers historic, current and emerging sources of contamination from heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants to microplastics; and identifies their ecological impacts. Due to factors ranging from rapidly changing land use practices, climate change and our emerging understanding of their impact on biological, chemical and physical interactions, the effectiveness of management strategies has proven highly variable. Continued enhancements in the rate of lake recovery are required to sustain the health of the Great Lakes. Accordingly, the book also explores recent advances in contaminant detection, along with future steps forward in lake management approaches. Revealing our current knowledge gaps and providing a roadmap towards sustainable solutions, the book offers a valuable asset for scientists, managers and the public alike.

• Microplastics
• Persistent organic pollutants (POP)
• Heavy metal contaminants
• Aquatic ecosystems
• Algal Blooms
• Oxygen depletion
• water quality and water pollution
• water policy

• School of Environment and Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Canada

  Jill Crossman, Chris Weisener

Jill Crossman is an Associate Professor at the University of Windsor, working in the field of hydrochemistry. Her research focuses on interactions between land management and aquatic ecosystems, on improving lake recovery rates with regard to harmful algal blooms and associated oxygen depletion, and on emerging contaminants, specifically microplastics.

Chris Weisener is a Professor of Geomicrobiology with a research focus on geochemical elemental cycling in sediment/aqueous compartments. His work aims to broaden our understanding of the mechanisms influencing the mobility, cycling and chemical form of metals and nutrients.