Eutrophication is the process by which aquatic ecosystems become enriched with bioavailable nutrients, primarily reactive nitrogen and phosphorus, leading to excessive primary production, typically algal and cyanobacterial blooms. This nutrient loading often originates from agricultural runoff, wastewater effluents, and atmospheric deposition, and it disrupts ecosystem structure and function by altering species composition, food-web dynamics, and biogeochemical cycles. Subsequent decomposition of bloom biomass elevates microbial respiration, driving hypoxia or anoxia, promoting internal nutrient recycling from sediments, and potentially generating toxic metabolites. Eutrophication is a central research topic in limnology, coastal oceanography, and ecosystem management, integrating hydrology, biogeochemistry, and ecological modeling.
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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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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River experts say new satellite technology holds the promise of protecting water quality around the world.
Environment
Jun 17, 2026
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A publication led by researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology in Bremen, Germany, shows that microscopic partnerships between ciliates and bacteria play a role in the nitrogen cycle of lakes. The ...
Ecology
Jun 17, 2026
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During the Archean Eon—roughly 4 billion years ago—the Earth was a lifeless planet. The atmosphere lacked oxygen, and there were few, if any, organisms to be found anywhere on the globe. Then something incredible happened. ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jun 12, 2026
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Oxygen depletion in the western Baltic Sea is not uncommon. Oxygen-poor conditions regularly occur in deeper waters, placing stress on marine ecosystems and, in extreme cases, causing fish kills. As ocean temperatures continue ...
Environment
Jun 11, 2026
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Hannah Ray J Childs propelled her kayak into a rapid on Iowa's Maquoketa River on a recent afternoon and dipped her paddle in the water to swing the front of her boat into the air.
Environment
Jun 4, 2026
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Scientists at William & Mary's Batten School & VIMS, FlowWest and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science recently announced that the Chesapeake Bay's annual "dead zone" is expected to be relatively mild ...
Environment
May 27, 2026
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Gutweed could become a future crop in the Baltic Sea. This is shown in a new study from the University of Gothenburg, where researchers have, for the first time, successfully cultivated the seaweed through its entire life ...
Plants & Animals
May 27, 2026
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Over the course of evolution, plants have developed an elegant strategy to counteract a lack of phosphate in the soil—they form symbiotic relationships with soil fungi. These mycorrhizal fungi efficiently supply their plant ...
Molecular & Computational biology
May 22, 2026
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