Lighting the Lake

[Rils]

Recent news from the DRC suggests that we will finally be able to use the Age of Er'cana to help restore the light levels of the Lake.

HOWEVER...

Until we know more about the ecology of the algae in the lake, and what the problem with them is, I would urge the Explorer community at large to be cautious of the rate at which we conduct this "relighting".

Nutrient loading is a widely studied topic, and the general result of fertilizing a body of water is to cause algae blooms. This is a well-known phenomenan, and most likely the reasoning the DRC will give for what they are trying to accomplish.

But there are side effects of nutrient loading, which most people don't think about, and which generally cause more harm than good in the long run. The simple fact is that algae blooms are typically not sustainable. Algae blooms use nutrients faster than they can be replenished, severely damaging the quality of the water. They block sunlight (not necessarily a factor in this case) and cause eutrophism. O2 and CO2 balances get severely screwed up, among other things. The net result is that the body of water is often left worse off than before.

Without knowing more about the ecology of the D'ni Lake, we need to urge Explorers to be cautious not to overload the lake with Er'cana fertilizer! In our ignorance, we may end up causing more harm than good. It's evident that someone on the DRC staff has at least a minimal knowledge of biology, but chances are good they haven't taken this isn't account.

More study needs to be done before we flood the lake with nutrients. If anyone sees a DRC staff member, please please please ask for verifiable data that they know what they are asking us to do...
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Those who dance appear insane to those who can't hear the music. - Mark Kleiman

[Simon Bitdiddle]

Formalize the verbage and POST THAT DECLARATION in the IC forums.

This "adult supervisory element" condones this.
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<PSA> Friends Don't Let Friends Link Drunk. </PSA>

[BrettM]

I agree. This danger needs to be publicised.

I do question whether the Er'cana pellets are actually nutrients, though. There are many possibilities, based on whatever agent caused the problem to begin with. EG, if the gas cloud was absorbed by something in the lake water, or chemically combined with it, perhaps it made that item biologically unavailable to the organisms. The pellets may simply be replacing whatever the gas removed from solution, whether that be nutrients, a chemical energy source, or dissolved gasses (O2 or CO2, for example). Or, if the gas cloud was actually a disease that affects the algae, perhaps the pellets serve as an antibiotic. Or if it is a simple poison, perhaps the pellets work as an antidote.

In any of the above cases, the first glow of light from the organisms that are restored to health disperses as the healthy organisms spread out through the population, leading to an immeasurably-small improvement in the light level. As more organisms are restored to health and spread, the light increase would become measurable.

However, it is all just speculation. We really need to KNOW before messing around with this.

(One question is whether the recipe we used for making pellets in PotS is the same as the one Kadish used. Remember, we got the recipe from Yeesha, and we did see her using it at the end of PotS as thousands of pellets rained from the Cavern ceiling. If the true Grower is using them -- and us -- to fulfill the prophesy of bringing light, then Kadish using them the same way would hardly be deceptive.)
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*SLMW 1.0* No animals were harmed in the production of this message.

[semplerfi]

[Rils]

Just in case folks aren't familiar with the downside of an algal bloom, here is a link to a wiki article describing the basic effects. I'll admit that when I learned about this in college it was a bit of a surprise; I wouldn't have guessed dumping fertilizer/nutrients/plantfood/whatever into an aquatic environment would result in such a harmful condition! Studying it extensively sure convinced me otherwise...
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Those who dance appear insane to those who can't hear the music. - Mark Kleiman

[Simon Bitdiddle]

Great, so we either convince the DRC to mollyguard the ovens or we demand verification that the unregulated throngs of Explorers pressing buttons isn't going to bone the aquatic ecosystem of the Cavern.

Maybe someone should 'accidentally' bring up the question of how oxygen comes into a cavern that's effectively sealed from the surface...

There's a pun here about CyanWorlds and cyanosis, but it's a bit too early for it.
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<PSA> Friends Don't Let Friends Link Drunk. </PSA>

[Rils]

[semplerfi]

I have to side with caution on this issue. There are lots of lakes topside where I live and the occasional algae bloom is a stinky mess. At least we are making the DRC aware of our concerns.
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~ sempler's shards ~

[The Zoologist]

Well, I think that if we were in danger of having an algae bloom on our hands, it would have been noticed by now. Look at all the pellets we dump in that lake! If they truly had that much of an effect, we'd be blinded by orange light by now... So I think the pellets aren't strong enough to cause an out-of-control bloom.
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Am I not Urwinny enough for the Urwin club?

~The Zoologist in Negilahn