Algal blooms are rapid, transient increases in algal biomass in aquatic ecosystems, typically driven by nutrient enrichment (especially bioavailable nitrogen and phosphorus), favorable light and temperature conditions, and water column stability. They often involve phytoplankton, including cyanobacteria, diatoms, and dinoflagellates, and can reach densities that markedly alter primary production, oxygen dynamics, and food-web structure. In research, algal blooms are studied as manifestations of eutrophication, with emphasis on nutrient loading thresholds, community succession, and biogeochemical feedbacks. Harmful algal blooms (HABs), a subset, are investigated for toxin production, bloom initiation and termination mechanisms, and impacts on ecosystem services and biogeochemical cycling.
Rowers on the River Po in Turin are battling vast blooms of algae, as high temperatures in northwest Italy and runoff from farms create ideal conditions for rampant plant growth.
Environment
Jul 16, 2026
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The "red tide" algal blooms that are becoming more frequent along the Pacific coast produce one of the most potent neurotoxins known: saxitoxin, or STX. The toxin accumulates in shellfish and causes paralytic shellfish poisoning ...
Ecology
Jul 16, 2026
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More than 90% of the key nutrients degrading the Mar Menor, such as ammonium, phosphorus and silica, do not come from streams or continental groundwater, but rather through a mechanism that has so far been overlooked: Water ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 8, 2026
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The marine microalgae responsible for the most devastating effects of the South Australian harmful algal bloom (HAB) has now been shown to be the most toxic species of its kind ever studied.
Ecology
Jul 6, 2026
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The summers of 2021 and 2022 were tough seasons for Colorado's Blue Mesa Reservoir. A severe drought gripped much of the western U.S., prompting emergency water releases that brought the reservoir to its lowest level since ...
Environment
Jul 6, 2026
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7
Ahead of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the U.S., an ozone nanobubble system has been used to keep the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool clear. Months before the celebrations, a massive cleanup ...
Bio & Medicine
Jul 6, 2026
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When bright green water appeared in the newly renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, it drew national attention and sparked political finger-pointing. The culprit: cyanobacteria—sometimes called blue-green algae—a type ...
Environment
Jun 29, 2026
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Algal blooms in the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C., have long been a visible public nuisance. When the pool turned green again on June 15, less than two weeks after President Donald Trump's US$14 million ...
Environment
Jun 29, 2026
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Seawater is seeping into Italy's longest river as the waterway starts to run dry in the heat wave, hitting a farming heartland that produces the milk for Parmesan cheese.
Environment
Jun 27, 2026
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25
NOAA and its research partners are forecasting a moderate harmful algal bloom (HAB) in western Lake Erie this summer. This year's bloom is expected to measure 3.5 on the HAB severity index, with a potential range of 3 to ...
Environment
Jun 26, 2026
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