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.
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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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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When the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool turned green with algae just days after a US$15 million renovation, the U.S. government scrambled for chemicals and expensive technical solutions to fix the iconic landmark.
Environment
Jun 26, 2026
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For decades, the rivers of the Murray-Darling Basin have been heavily regulated by dams and irrigation networks. As a result, the volume of water entering the ocean is about 60% smaller than 100 years ago. But nature broke ...
Earth Sciences
Jun 26, 2026
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The Black Sea sits at the boundary between Europe and Asia and connects to the Mediterranean Sea via a chain of waterways. Its surface often appears dark, but each spring and summer it transforms into a striking expanse of ...
Environment
Jun 25, 2026
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As the United States approaches its 250th birthday celebrations on July 4, Washington, DC's monuments, statues and fountains are being prepared to put on a show.
Bio & Medicine
Jun 24, 2026
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One of the most powerful environmental cleaning technologies in recent years is too small to see with the naked eye. Nanobubbles—tiny gaseous bubbles with diameters of around 100 nanometers—can clean up a range of harmful ...
Environment
Jun 19, 2026
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From sea lettuce adorning tidal pools and bull kelp left in windrows at the high tide line to towering underwater forests of giant kelp providing refuge and food for countless species, British Columbia's seaweeds are both ...
Ecology
Jun 17, 2026
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