"It's very unlikely that anything is living there. If it's reacting that way there must be a more rational reason for it." Even if the words were of a slightly corrective nature, he didn't sound like he intended to come across as condescending.
 
"Knowing the chemical composition would give us the details that are invisible to the naked eye. It could allow us to understand why the lake reacts the way that it does to certain objects. Or in this case, why it repels them." 

He looked off to the garden. Particularly at the plants - that other mystery he had yet to solve. "That knowledge could be used to help us understand more about Asgard as a whole." 

He sounded almost... delighted by it. After all, piecing together information had been a large part of his job back home. And he did enjoy that part.