{"id":9682,"date":"2017-07-31T02:01:40","date_gmt":"2017-07-31T02:01:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/?p=9682"},"modified":"2017-08-01T02:05:08","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T02:05:08","slug":"nutrient-pollution-voluntary-steps-are-failing-to-shrink-algae-blooms-and-dead-zones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lifeandnews.com\/articles\/nutrient-pollution-voluntary-steps-are-failing-to-shrink-algae-blooms-and-dead-zones\/","title":{"rendered":"Nutrient pollution: Voluntary steps are failing to shrink algae blooms and dead zones"},"content":{"rendered":"

Donald Scavia<\/a>, University of Michigan<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

Summer is the season for harmful algae blooms<\/a> in many U.S. lakes and bays. They occur when water bodies become overloaded with nitrogen and phosphorus from farms, water treatment plants and other sources. Warm water and lots of nutrients promote rapid growth of algae that can be toxic and potentially fatal to aquatic life and people.<\/p>\n

Eventually algae settle to the bottom and decay, depleting dissolved oxygen in the water, creating hypoxia<\/a> \u2013 \u201cdead zones\u201d where oxygen levels are low enough to kill fish.<\/p>\n

As a senior scientist at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration between 1975 and 2003, I developed annual hypoxia forecasts for the Chesapeake Bay and the Gulf of Mexico \u2013 two of our nation\u2019s water bodies most harmed by these blooms. At the University of Michigan, I helped develop harmful algae bloom forecasts for Lake Erie and continue to work with public and private organizations on these issues.<\/p>\n

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