Excess Nutrients May Spur Algal Blooms
Notes:
Major or Recurring Harmful Algal Blooms, Before and After 1972 (1 of 2)
Recent studies have shown that excess nitrogen from human activities such as agriculture, energy production, and transport has begun to overwhelm the natural nitrogen cycle with a range of ill effects from diminished soil fertility to toxic algal blooms. Aquatic ecosystems in lakes, rivers, and coastal estuaries are the ultimate receptacle of much of the nutrient overload, which tends to accumulate in runoff or to be delivered directly in the form of raw or treated sewage. For more information see http://www.wri.org/trends/nutrient.html.
Source: Donald Anderson, “Expansion of HAB Problems in the U.S., “National Office for Marine Biotoxins and Harmful Algal Blooms, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Available online at: http://habserv1.whoi.edu/hab/HABdistribution/habexpand.html (February 10, 1998).
Note: The increase in algal blooms may be attributable to a number of causes, including an increase in waterborne nutrients from human activities.