blooms

Every summer, surges of toxic green muck plague lakes worldwide, sickening hikers who fail to purify drinking water, closing favorite swimming holes, and killing fish. The most feared—and studied—cause of these freshwater “algal” blooms is a genus of cyanobacterium called Microcystis. Its explosive summer growth is thought to be spurred by rising levels of phosphorus, nitrogen, and other nutrients, perhaps from fertilizer run off or other pollution sources. But new research,…

Schematic map for typhoon influence on the ECS continental shelf by three types of typhoon-induced upwelling. Credit: IOCAS A research team led by Prof. Yin Baoshu from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) has revealed how typhoons trigger coastal algal blooms. …