Greenhouse gas emissions from Daihai Lake, China: Should eutrophication and salinity promote carbon emission dynamics?

PubMed. (2024, January 1). Greenhouse gas emissions from Daihai Lake, China: Should eutrophication and salinity promote carbon emission dynamics?

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37778815/

 

This article provides a little bit more information regarding the correlation between algal blooms on greenhouse gasses. Lakes have always played an important role in absorbing and emitting greenhouse gasses, but it seems like eutrophication and nitrogen compound runoff is disturbing how lakes interact with methane and carbon dioxide. There still isn’t much known about eutrophic lakes and what it will mean for the future of climate change, but this study illuminates how there could be potentially dangerous effects from lake emissions.

 

This article is important because it gives context to the difficulties environmental scientists experience when doing research. Few studies have been done on this topic, and it prevents us from having a comprehensive look on interactions between greenhouse gasses and greenhouse gas sinks. Additionally, with how much lakes vary across the world, it makes it even more difficult to get a comprehensive understanding and then find a solution. But it still is incredibly important for us to understand, mostly because of how potent methane is as a greenhouse gas, and how if we have more than we expected then we need the flexibility to adapt to it. We need to tackle eutrophication, the main root cause of this, before it begins to exacerbate climate change as well.

Wetlands as a potential multi functioning tool to mitigate eutrophication and brownification

PubMed. (2024, January 29). Wetlands as a potential multi functioning tool to mitigate eutrophication and brownification.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38286682/

 

This article takes a look at the potential benefits of wetland restoration, and how it could mitigate the effects of eutrophication. The wetlands have the ability to capture and sequester nitrogen compounds, and microbes living in the soil can change those compounds into less damaging forms. However, there is a difference between generalist and specialist wetlands, and their efficiency in reducing nitrogen compounds, so much more research is required so we can effectively utilize restored wetlands.

 

This article is important for environmental science, because it shines a bit of hope on a situation that is looking a little grim. If wetland restoration truly has the potential to mitigate eutrophication, then it is incredibly good news because it means that we can help solve several problems at once. Wetland restoration is great for helping mitigate rising oceans, and provides valuable ecosystems for many different species. If restoring wetlands means that we can also reduce the effects of eutrophication, then that puts less stress on both aquatic ecosystems and environmental scientists as more permanent solutions are found.

Mariculture may intensify eutrophication but could lower Nitrogen/Phosphorus ratios.

Mariculture is a form of marine farming, or cultivating marine organisms in enclosed spaces for food or other animal products. Mariculture plays an important role in meeting growing food demands, as well as being effective in aiding carbon sequestration. However, it threatens local ecosystems by throwing nutrient levels out of balance, causing eutrophication. This article examines how different types of mariculture have different impacts in the Sansha Bay in southeastern China, which raises both shellfish and grows seaweed. One method, called fed culture, (cages and ponds) utilizes nitrogen compounds to feed cultured organisms. The study shows that there is quite a bit of nitrogen and phosphorus compounds that are not utilized in the process of cultivation, which does lead to higher rates of coastal eutrophication. However, there is a second, more environmentally-friendly version of mariculture. This method involves seaweed cultivation, which acts as a nutrient sink and can offset the effects of fed culture and eutrophication.

 

The article is related to environmental science because it shows the dangers of mariculture and how our consumption can lead to more problems down the line. The increase in demand for seafood has led to an increase in mariculture, and that has led to dangerous algal blooms further down the line. However, there is a silver-lining. We can move towards other things to cultivate, such as seaweed. This will help combat the nutrient runoff, and seaweed is also a great source of food and can be turned into biofuels. Additionally, increased amounts of seaweed will help aid the ocean in removing excess CO2, helping with carbon neutrality. This is significant because if we adopt more sustainable mariculture models, then better ocean health will be promoted. Ocean acidification (which does affect mariculture of shellfish) will slow down, less coastal areas will become dead zones from eutrophication, and we could still meet growing food demands.

Researchers Warn on Eutrophication Potential of Ammonia

MarineLink. (2024, February 5). Researchers Warn on Eutrophication Potential of Ammonia.

https://www.marinelink.com/news/researchers-warn-eutrophication-potential-511321

 

A push towards alternative fuels could potentially create even larger environmental impacts, in the form of eutrophication. Ammonia has its advantages as an alternative fuel, namely its low cost and being a mostly clean fuel. Unfortunately, it seems to be limited by it not being green enough. Studies show that it is related to releasing nitrogen compounds, which is very dangerous for sensitive ecosystems that are already being threatened by eutrophication.

 

This article highlights an important problem in environmental science. We are looking for alternatives, but it is hard finding solutions to our problems that don’t immediately create new ones. In this case, finding alternative solutions to fossil fuels is very important, but creates algal blooms that end up releasing CO2 anyways as well as destroying the oceans effectiveness as a carbon sink.

Pollution/eutrophication risks worsening global water scarcity

Phys.org (2024, February 6). Pollution risks worsening global water scarcity: Study.

https://phys.org/news/2024-02-pollution-worsening-global-scarcity.html

This article is about how eutrophication can affect water scarcity. A recent study shows how 3 billion more people than expected could be at risk of facing water scarcity by 2050, and the cause is increased pollution rendering river sources unsafe for people and wildlife alike. Combined with chemical and plastic pollution, eutrophication can compromise water quality. As seen in previous articles, the algae blooms can choke ecosystems and release dangerous products (such as neurotoxins) into our limited water sources.

 

This article is related to Environmental Science because it shows a more global scale of cascading effects from nitrogen fertilizers and eutrophication. When I did the original California one, I focused on the effects of cyanobacteria and algal blooms in the Bay Area. This article confirms that the same things we see here will potentially threaten much of the world if things do not change. The article mentioned how around half the world’s population is at risk of water scarcity, without factoring in the effects of eutrophication. If this study is right, then more people would not have access to clean and safe water than those who do, in only about 25 years. This article puts heavy emphasis on how soon that is, and the scale of the massive problem that we face.

Algae Blooms Killing Aquatic Mammals

NOAA. (2023, June 16). Toxic Algal Bloom Suspected in Dolphin and Sea Lion Deaths

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/toxic-algal-bloom-suspected-dolphin-and-sea-lion-deaths-southern-california

 

This article was written in the first two weeks of June, and speaks of how algae is the suspected culprit behind the mass deaths of hundreds of sea lions and dozens of dolphins. The species is called pseudo-nitzschia, and it causes these mass deaths by releasing a neurotoxin called domoic acid into the food web. The consumption of this food web goes all the way through it, and it ends up in dolphins, sea lions and seabirds which eat the fish who are closest to these algal blooms. The neurotoxins spread by the algae were projected to be from north Orange county all the way up to San Luis Obispo. The domoic acid is released into the water and food sources for predators, but also poses a threat for humans if it is consumed in foods. This means that a lot of fisheries could have fish in them with trace amounts of domoic acid during the summer months.

 

This article is helpful because it shows how dangerous algae can be. In the first two weeks of June, when this article was written, it was stated that hundreds of sea lions and up to 60 dolphins had already died. According to the article, over a thousand reports of sick aquatic mammals arrived between June 8th and June 14th. It is relevant to environmental science because this overwhelming amount of reports is more than what scientists can handle. Especially with the role that sea lions and dolphins play as predators, the sudden dying of these aquatic mammals can cause a further collapse. The dead zones created by the toxic algae show the cascading effect of over consuming and pollution. Additionally, the longer length of algal blooms may combine with the scale to completely overwhelm and measures to stop the blooms. This is why more preventative measures need to be taken, rather than corrective action, because at this stage it is too stressful for the ecosystem and the people who are working to preserve it.

Will Megastorms Help Prevent Toxic Algae?

Marinji. (2023, August 5). Will this winter’s megastorms end the Bay Area’s toxic algae problem?

https://www.marinij.com/2023/04/05/will-this-winters-megastorms-end-the-bay-areas-toxic-algae-problem/

 

This article explores the possibility of droughts causing intense algal blooms. It discusses the possibility of rainfall lessening the stagnated water, and hopefully mitigating some of the blooms. The continuous droughts of the past six or so years have been a major problem, and could have been a cause of these extensive blooms. However, last year, we received plenty of rainfall, something this article does not account for. It does note that rainfall is not a permanent solution, due to the unpredictable weather conditions here.

 

This relates to environmental science because it shows how there could be many reasons for the same cause. We have to be vigilant to look for every reason there could be for something, and hopefully find a solution for it. This is because sometimes solutions are not permanent, like how the rainfalls will lessen algae blooms but could be followed up with a decade long drought. In this case, the rainfall provides temporary relief from the blooms, but algae thrives with warm weather that follows it. Additionally, rainfall might make the problem worse in the following month as more nitrogen fertilizer is washed out. A large part of environmental science is making sure that your solution won’t lead to more consequences and is actually beneficial.

Toxic Algae Spreads to the East Bay Watershed

Kron 4. (2023, August 1). Harmful Algae bloom confirmed in East Bay.

https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/harmful-algae-bloom-confirmed-in-central-east-bay/

 

This article, once again discussing the same algae blooms, reports the blooms having been spotted in the East Bay. Last year only confirmed in the San Francisco Bay, this shows how the ecological disaster is spreading further and further, meaning that it could negatively impact the entire coast.

 

This relates to environmental science because it shows that our problems are not only restricted to us. Once again, California is very agriculture based, so anywhere where farming is common would suffer from the same problem. It has already spread so far down the Bay, and if immediate action is not taken, it could be even further. To find a solution whilst still producing the same amount of food, new alternatives would have to be found. Self-contained vertical farms (using hydroponics) are already a thing, but to implement it at the scale in which California requires would be an extremely expensive undertaking. Environmental Scientists need to weigh the costs and benefits economically as well as scientifically, and somewhere out there a decent solution would exist. The main obstacle would remain being doing that solution at a scale, and this article is a perfect example of that.

Preventative Measures for Algae Blooms

Bay Nature. (2023, July 10). Can We Prevent Another Algaepocalypse in the Bay?

https://baynature.org/2023/07/10/can-we-prevent-another-algaepocalypse-in-the-bay/

 

The toxic algae blooms are discussed once again in this article. This article talks more about the causes of the blooms and the prevention of a repeat disaster. The original bloom was supposedly caused by eutrophication, the massive amounts of nutrients flowing into the bay. Fertilizer runoff from farms in the San Francisco Bay Delta, and this watershed leads directly into the bay. Thanks to this, all the nutrients from farms in the 75,000 square mile area are concentrated in this one bay. 

 

This article represents how some actions we take have unforeseen consequences. The nutrients for industries in the Bay Area have flown into the Bay and started feeding these toxic blooms, so they grew larger and larger. If it were just one farm, then the side effects of it impacting a larger area might have been fine. But California is a massive fruit and vegetable producer, and thousands of farms are doing this at the same time in a relatively compact area. With environmental science, we can learn about how we influence the environment and topics like eutrophication. If the usage of nitrogen fertilizers is limited in an agrarian state like California, profits will be reduced. But if this continues to go on, fisheries will be impacted by the red and green algaes. As such, environmental scientists have to find alternatives and balance out these two things.

 

The Red Tide’s Effects on the Bay Area

San Francisco. Chronicle (2023, August 1). San Francisco Bay’s toxic algae bloom is suddenly back. How bad will it get?

https://www.sfchronicle.com/climate/article/algae-bloom-bay-18270257.php#:~:text=Algae%20blooms%20in%20San%20Francisco,blooms%20in%20the%20right%20conditions.

 

The toxic algae blooms that have plagued California returned this summer. The original 2022 red algae bloom arrived in mid summer last year and killed tens of thousands of fish, meaning that even though the current bloom has killed none so far, it could cause yet another ecological disaster in the Bay area. The source of the algae blooms comes from fertilizer runoff from local farms. The nutrients from the fertilizer help expedite the rapid growth of algae, which eventually die. The death of these algae all happens at the same time, leaving a rotting mass of red slime which chokes out native wildlife. These areas are called dead zones, and we can already see them getting much larger with each passing year.

 

This article represents an ecological disaster that directly affects us. The toxic algae blooms, though not harmful to us, will kill the species that we rely on en masse, repeatedly wrecking the bay’s health. The algae blooms last for several months at a time, and with an area that has temperate weather most of the time the blooms can be especially bad. With environmental science, we can see that scientists are already tracking the algae bloom and hopefully looking to take preventative measures to protect the Bay Area.