A research paper published this week reveals that large die-offs of algae locally magnify ocean acidification. As the cells die and sinks to the bottom, the bacteria population that feeds on them swells in response, consuming more oxygen and releasing more carbon dioxide (CO2). The CO2 reacts in seawater to form acidic compounds that lower [...]
A new kind of witchy interaction is underway in the oceans, report the authors of a new paper in Environmental Science & Technology. William G. Sunda and Wei-Jun Cai created a model to predict how CO2 from water pollution—that is, runoff from chemical fertilizers (farms), human waste (sewage), and animal waste (feedlots, ranches), plus nitrogen [...]
An increasingly warm climate is worsening the problem of harmful Great Lakes algae blooms by boosting the intensity of spring rains that wash phosphorus into the waters, a scientist said Wednesday during a conference for advocates and policymakers. The trend is likely to continue over the coming century, heightening the urgency to control runoff of [...]
To anyone who has spent a languid summer afternoon tumbling in the waves on South Beach or watched the earth’s closest star dip into the horizon at Menemsha, the ocean can seem eternal and unchanging. But scientists are increasingly discovering that human activity is transforming what was once thought to be an invulnerable resource. The [...]
University and NOAA investigators have found seed-like cysts of the toxic alga Alexandrium at all depths in a sediment core taken from Sequim Bay in Puget Sound. The depths in which they found the seeds indicate Alexandrium dates back to the late 1800’s. Correlations between cyst abundance, sea surface temperature, air temperature, and, for a shorter [...]
NCCOS funded scientists from the University of North Carolina documented the effect of rocky sills (shore-parallel, rock structures) on near shore habitat. Short rock sills are a common stabilization method and a living shoreline restoration technique, but little is known about their effects. The researchers studied algal mat abundance at two sites of silled marsh compared [...]
Despite an unexpectedly large algae bloom that shut down clam beds in Down East Maine several weeks ago, the 2011 red tide season has been relatively mild and could end early thanks to the current spate of hot and sunny weather. Darcie Couture, who directs the Maine Department of Marine Resources’ biotoxin monitoring program, said [...]
Scientists on Friday predicted a moderate bloom of the toxic red tide in New England this summer, and they say the same water conditions that held it in check last year could suppress it again. The naturally occurring red tide algae produces a toxin that shellfish absorb, making them potentially fatal for people to eat [...]