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UMCES scientists show harmful algae blooms in the Chesapeake Bay are more frequent
http://www.umces.edu/hpl/release/2015/may/11/umces-scientists-show-harmful-algae-blooms-chesapeake-bay-are-more-frequent[font face=Serif][font size=5]UMCES scientists show harmful algae blooms in the Chesapeake Bay are more frequent[/font]
[font size=4]Increase in harmful algal blooms shows more is work needed to reduce nutrient pollution of Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries[/font]
[font size=3]CAMBRIDGE, MD (May 11, 2015)—A recent study of harmful algal blooms in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science show a marked increase in these ecosystem-disrupting events in the past 20 years that are being fed by excess nitrogen runoff from the watershed. While algal blooms have long been of concern, this study is the first to document their increased frequency in the Bay and is a warning that more work is needed to reduce nutrient pollution entering the Bay's waters.
The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries have long been suffering from harmful algae blooms caused by excess nutrients running off of the land, due largely to a continually growing population in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and the development of animal and plant agriculture in its watershed. The harmful algae blooms addressed in this paper are happening in addition to the usual spring and summer temperature-dependent blooms that result in dead zones in the Bay.
"The increasing frequency and intensity of these harmful algae blooms will impact our ability to achieve the ultimate goal of restoring a healthy ecosystem in the Bay and put a premium on effective methods to reduce nutrient pollution," said Don Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "This study points to the need for continued efforts to reduce the amount of nitrogen running off the land and into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries."
The Chesapeake Bay is not the only place facing such problems. Similar events are happening off the coast of China and in many parts of Europe. "We're seeing this all over the world. More blooms, more often, lasting longer. In many places these trends are consistent with increased nitrogen loads," said study author Pat Glibert, professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Horn Point Laboratory.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2014.11.003[font size=4]Increase in harmful algal blooms shows more is work needed to reduce nutrient pollution of Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries[/font]
[font size=3]CAMBRIDGE, MD (May 11, 2015)—A recent study of harmful algal blooms in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries by the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science show a marked increase in these ecosystem-disrupting events in the past 20 years that are being fed by excess nitrogen runoff from the watershed. While algal blooms have long been of concern, this study is the first to document their increased frequency in the Bay and is a warning that more work is needed to reduce nutrient pollution entering the Bay's waters.
The Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries have long been suffering from harmful algae blooms caused by excess nutrients running off of the land, due largely to a continually growing population in the Baltimore-Washington corridor and the development of animal and plant agriculture in its watershed. The harmful algae blooms addressed in this paper are happening in addition to the usual spring and summer temperature-dependent blooms that result in dead zones in the Bay.
"The increasing frequency and intensity of these harmful algae blooms will impact our ability to achieve the ultimate goal of restoring a healthy ecosystem in the Bay and put a premium on effective methods to reduce nutrient pollution," said Don Boesch, President of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. "This study points to the need for continued efforts to reduce the amount of nitrogen running off the land and into the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries."
The Chesapeake Bay is not the only place facing such problems. Similar events are happening off the coast of China and in many parts of Europe. "We're seeing this all over the world. More blooms, more often, lasting longer. In many places these trends are consistent with increased nitrogen loads," said study author Pat Glibert, professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science's Horn Point Laboratory.
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