Jennifer Schmidt

Some picturesque2 blue lakes may not be so blue in the future， thanks toclimate change.

According to the researchers， about one-third of Earths lakes are blue. But， ifaverage summer air temperatures rose by a few degrees， some of those lakes couldturn a dark green or brown.

The changing colors could change how people use those waters and offerinformation about the lake ecosystems. Lake color depends in part on whats in thewater， but factors3 such as water depth4 also matter. Compared with blue lakes，green or brown lakes havemore algae5 and so on.

Lakes in places withaverage summer air temperaturesthat were below19益were more likely to beblue than lakes with warmersummers， the researchersfound. Thats because warmerwater helps algae bloom6more， which changes the colorof the water.

If some lakes do becomeless blue， people willprobably lose some of theresources7 they have cometo value. Lakes are oftenused for drinking water， food or recreation8. If the water is with more algae， it couldbe unappealing9 for play or more costly to clean for drinking.

But the color changes wouldnt necessarily mean that the lakes are any lesshealthy. Humans dont value lots of algae in a lake， but if youre a certain type offish， you might think“this is great”.

Lake color can show the state of a lakes ecosystem. Continued attention to thelakes could help scientists detect10 future changes.

由于氣候变化，一些风景如画的蓝色湖泊未来可能不会再那么蓝了。

研究人员称，地球上大约三分之一的湖泊是蓝色的。但是，如果夏季平均气温上升几度，其中的一些湖泊可能会变成暗绿色或棕色。

变化的颜色可能会改变人们使用这些水域的方式，并提供有关湖泊生态系统的信息。湖泊的颜色部分取决于水中的物质，但水深等因素也很重要。与蓝色湖泊相比，绿色或棕色湖泊有更多的藻类。

研究人员发现，夏季平均气温低于19 摄氏度的湖泊比夏季温度更高的湖泊更有可能是蓝色的。这是因为更温暖的湖水有助于藻类大量繁殖，从而改变了水的颜色。

如果一些湖泊确实变得不那么蓝，人们可能会失去一些他们所珍视的资源。

湖泊通常被用于饮用水、食物或娱乐。如果水里有更多的藻类，那么它可能不再吸引人去游玩，或者使饮用水净化成本更高。

但颜色的变化并不一定意味着湖泊的健康状况有所下降。人类并不看重湖中的大量藻类，但如果你是某种鱼类，你可能会觉得“这太棒了”。

湖泊的颜色可以显示一个湖泊生态系统的状态。对湖泊的持续关注可以帮助科学家察觉未来的变化。

Notes

1. climate 气候

2. picturesque 风景如画的

3. factor 因素；要素

4. depth 深度

5. algae 水藻

6. bloom 开花；绽放；繁荣

7. resource 资源

8. recreation  娱乐；活动

9. unappealing  无吸引力的

10. detect 查明；察觉