Algal bloom
hideAn algal bloom is a rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic system. Algal blooms may occur in freshwater as well as marine environments. Typically, only one or a small number of phytoplankton species are involved, and some blooms may be recognized by discoloration of the water resulting from the high density of pigmented cells. Although there is no officially recognized threshold level, algae can be considered to be blooming at concentrations of hundreds to thousands of cells per milliliter, depending on the severity. Algal bloom concentrations may reach millions of cells per milliliter. Algal blooms are often green, but they can also be yellow-brown or red, depending on the species of algae.
Bright green blooms are a result of blue-green algae, which are actually bacteria (cyanobacteria). Blooms may also consist of macroalgal, not phytoplankton, species. These blooms are recognizable by large blades of algae that may wash up onto the shoreline. "Black water" is a dark discoloration of sea water, first described in the Florida Bay in January 2002.
For more information about Algal bloom, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with algal blooms
Eutrophication affects diversity of algae
Oct 19, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Eutrophication of the seas may have an impact on genetic variation in algae, research at the University of Gothenburg shows.
Storm killers: Earth Scan Lab tracks cold water upwellings in Gulf
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 28, 2009 |
4 / 5 (4) |
0
Complex interactions between the ocean and overlying atmosphere cause hurricanes to form, and also have a tremendous amount of influence on the path, intensity and duration of a hurricane or tropical weather event. As researchers ...
NOAA announces an experimental harmful algal bloom forecast bulletin for Lake Erie
Sep 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Predicting harmful algal blooms, or HABs, in the Great Lakes is now a reality as NOAA announces an experimental HAB forecast system in Lake Erie. HABs produce toxins that may pose a significant risk to human and animal health ...
New research to unravel how nutrients drive toxic 'brown tides' on East Coast
Sep 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
NOAA has awarded Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution $120,000 as part of an anticipated three-year, nearly $500,000 project, to determine how nitrogen and phosphorus promote brown tides on the East Coast. ...
Scientists Use Squid Ink to Draw its Jurassic Period Owner
Other Sciences / Archaeology & Fossils
Aug 28, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (8) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists digging in Trowbridge, Wiltshire in England have uncovered the fossilized remains of a prehistoric squid-like creature that lived in the Jurassic period around 150 million years ...
Scientists study harmful algal blooms in Puget Sound
Aug 19, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
Under a microscope, Heterosigma akashiwo looks like a potato or a cornflake. To the naked eye, sea lettuce is a big, green sheet of seaweed. In most cases, these different algae are food for the ocean's vegetarians.
Big Advantage for the Small -- Climate change influences the size of marine organisms
Jul 23, 2009 |
2.5 / 5 (2) |
0
The ice is melting, the sea level is rising and species are conquering new habitats. The warming of the world climate has many consequences. In the current issue of the renowned journal 'Proceedings of the ...
Scientists report first remote, underwater detection of harmful algae, toxins
Jul 14, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
Scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have successfully conducted the first remote detection of a harmful algal species and its toxin below ...
A thirst for blood sparks toxic algal blooms
Jun 30, 2009 |
not rated yet |
1
The blooming of toxic algae that occurs during the summer conceal a fight for life and death. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, propose in an article published in the journal PNAS that a ...
Research finds mangroves being fed to death
May 19, 2009 |
4.2 / 5 (5) |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- New UQ Science research has found the increase in nutrients coming out of our river systems is putting pressure on our mangrove forests and making them far more susceptible to environmental ...
Sewage treatment in the East may be enough to reduce Baltic algal blooms
May 07, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- Upgrading sewage treatment in the southeastern Baltic Sea states to Swedish standards may suffice to reduce algal blooms in the Baltic to levels of the 1950s. This is shown in a study performed by Andreas ...
Changing climate will lead to devastating loss of phosphorus from soil
Apr 15, 2009 |
2.5 / 5 (8) |
3
Crop growth, drinking water and recreational water sports could all be adversely affected if predicted changes in rainfall patterns over the coming years prove true, according to research published this month in Biology an ...
Harmful 'red tide' hits Dubai beaches
Apr 07, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (3) |
0
Beaches in the Gulf tourism hub of Dubai have been plagued by a bloom of algae known as the "red tide" that has killed fish and is potentially harmful to humans, a municipality official said on Tuesday.
Australian oil spill '10 times worse' than thought
Mar 14, 2009 |
4.3 / 5 (3) |
2
An oil spill polluting popular tourist beaches on Australia's northeast coast is 10 times worse than originally reported, according to the state government.
Jurassic Park from a Swiss lake?
Mar 12, 2009 |
3.3 / 5 (3) |
1
Ecological changes caused by humans affect natural biodiversity. For example, the eutrophication of Greifensee and Lake Constance in the 1970s and 1980s led to genetic changes in a species of water flea which ...
