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 a marine heat wave strikes, scientists often turn to satellites to see how the ocean is responding. From space, changes in ocean color can reveal shifts in phytoplankton, microscopic organisms that form the foundation ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 15, 2026
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Tiny single-celled organisms help keep lakes clear, but some can also contaminate the water. An international research team has analyzed DNA data from 362 lakes to create the first global genome atlas of these organisms. ...
Ecology
Oct 7, 2026
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Penguin poop is fertilizing snow algae blooms along the Antarctic Peninsula, feeding dense green algae patches along the coastline, a new study shows. These expanding stretches of green snow melt faster than clean, white ...
Earth Sciences
Oct 7, 2026
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Treating polluted water flowing into San Francisco Bay to meet regulatory requirements is going to cost ratepayers money. Exactly how much depends, in large part, on whether the region's wastewater treatment plant operators ...
Environment
Sep 24, 2026
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Tiny plantlike organisms called phytoplankton that form the base of marine food webs topped by orcas, whales and sharks usually get eaten or slowly sink to the seafloor, carrying carbon as they go. Across most of the ocean, ...
Earth Sciences
Sep 23, 2026
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Harmful algal blooms pose serious threats to people, animals and the environment. The University of Toledo's Dr. Jeanine Refsnider counts it as a positive discovery that northern map turtles tend to steer clear, as she and ...
Plants & Animals
Sep 10, 2026
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Estuaries across the United States are facing the same trends of warming waters, algal growth and declining oxygen concentrations that threaten water quality and fish populations, regardless of geographic location, according ...
Environment
Sep 9, 2026
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This year's cuttlefish season has been unlike any other. Every winter, more than 100,000 giant Australian cuttlefish can usually be found mating along the rocky coastline of Point Lowly, northeast of Whyalla, South Australia. ...
Ecology
Aug 10, 2026
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As of June 2026, El Niño has officially arrived. This naturally recurring phenomenon is characterized by warmer-than-normal water temperatures in parts of the equatorial Pacific, along with changes to atmospheric and oceanic ...
Environment
Aug 10, 2026
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Seagrasses are among the most important foundation species in coastal ecosystems, providing habitat for marine life, stabilizing sediments and helping improve water quality. Yet nearly 20% of the world's historic seagrass ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 4, 2026
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