24 Nov 2017

Lasers used in hopes to understand lake snot

From Morning Report, 8:42 am on 24 November 2017

Lake snot, or lake snow as it's sometimes known, was first discovered at Lake Wanaka a decade ago.

While it's not toxic, the brown snot-like slime it produces clings to swimmers, fishing equipment and water filters.

Now the algae has spread to Lake Wakitipu and as far north as Lake Tekapo. Researchers are hoping to use lasers to crack the mystery of what is causing lake snot.