This Earth Sygns Article touches on the effects of Algae Blooms on Marine Life
USA Red Tide has already produced 600 tons or 2,000,000 Kg of dead marine life. The corpses have washed up on the western shores of Florida in the USA. The event is brought on by an Algae Bloom of epic proportions. A full 40% of a phosphorus reserve was drained due to a leak in its banks, right into Tampa Bay. A more than irresponsible answer to the uses of phosphorus in and around marine life.
The Red Tide happens when algae develop in an out-of-control “bloom” full of cyanobacteria. The blooms can cause the water to turn blue, green, red, and more colorful tints, but are deadly to marine life. That is why, when the cyanobacteria become so prevalent it tints the water red.
The blooms are precipitated by warm water temperatures, runoff from fertilizer used on farms and lawn care products, and slow-moving currents. The resulting nutrient “mush” chokes off marine life and poisons the water. The algae blooms have been happening in many places throughout the world, as water currents slow, temperatures of water rise, and phosphorus levels rising, the blooms are happening throughout the year.
The connection to global warming is more than obvious, but with phosphorus being used in almost all types of soil treatments, for grasses and crops, all over the world, the effects of runoff can be devastating.
In Tampa, government officials are claiming that the large Red Tide, was already an effect in the Bay. But that is the point, the Algae Blooms are developing on a regular basis, with fish kills becoming larger and larger. Adding to that enormous phosphorus dumps, the effects to the human and wildlife can be overwhelming.
The New York Times Article
