Eutrophication(Anthropogenic eutrophication)

Mina IvanovaLassie MilanovaIvaylo Danailov

10/7

Eutrophication1. Eutrophication• an ecosystem response to the

human activites that fertilize water bodies with nitrogen and phosphorus;(1)

• Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential to organisms that use light and chemical energy to survive. They are found in lakes, rivers, estuaries, and in enormous regions of the upper parts of oceans;(1,2)

• The nutrients are primarily from agricultural and urban sources. They are delivered by stormwater runoff and atmospheric deposition;(1)

motherjones.com/.../eutrophication_580x417.gif

Harmful Algae Blooms

• Also called Marine or Water Blooms;• It is the rapid increase of algae in water bodies;• Algae – microscopic plants; aquatic; unicellular; no

roots, leaves, or stems. They could be green, yellowish-brown, or red. Occur in both freshwater and marine water bodies;

• Most of them are a result from an excess of nutrients (eutrophication) which causes a big increase in reproduction and growth;(3,2)

The “Dead Zone” of Mississippi River

• 5,800 square mile zone in the Gulf of Mexico, where Mississippi river flows into the ocean.

• Caused by fertilizers released into the river by human activities near it’s banks

• Phytoplankton productivity reaches it’s peak. As it dies, bacteria feed with it’s remains and they strip the oxygen out of the water. This condition is called hypoxia.

http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/dead_zone.html

The Baltic Sea “Dead Zone”• Larger than Estonia• Caused by the release

of many fertilizers in the water by Sweden and Finland

• There are parts in the sea where the oxygen concentration is 0

(8)

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100305-baltic-sea-algae-dead-zones-water/

Negative Ecological Effects

• Creation of toxins that are damaging to animals and plants – they are dying;

• The balance of N and P in the water is disturbed;

• Decrease of sunlight;• Usage of most of the amount of oxygen in the

aquatic environment;• Who is responsible? – The People!(2)

Eutrophication and the Environment

• Fish and other aquatic organisms are harmed due to the decomposed algae in the water

• A lot of organisms => interpecific competition => decrease in diversity

• The water has increased turbidity (how much a water has lost its transparency)

• Toxic algae may lead to the dead of different animalshttp://www.lenntech.com/eutrophication-water-bodies/eutrophication-effects.htm

Impact on Humans

• EconomicFish and other marine animals’ death => loss of money

and food sources Negative – money spent on treatment of the waterStock losses due to death of farm animals

• Health toxic algae bring infections up the food chain which

may result in death or diseases

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/water/water-nitrates/pdf/eutrophication.pdf

How to Prevent Eutrophication• Banning Phosphate Detergents• European Union is decreasing the

amount of N and P delivered to the sea.• Reducing N emissions from vehicles • Reduce livestock densities- their wastes

reach the water, causing Eutrophication• Special stations that clean the domestic

sewage water• Improve efficiency of fertilizers (4,5)

http://creativegreenius.files.wordpress.com/2009/12/danger.jpg

What can be done once Eutrophication occurs

• Plant vegetation alongside the coast to absorb the excess nutrients- the so called Riparian Buffer Zone. The trees prevent the nutrients from reaching the water

• Manual cleaning• Use bacteria that make denitrification- they take the

nitrates and turn them into simple molecular nitrogen (4,5)

Work Cites1. "Eutrophication". Boston University. 8th May, 2010 <http://www.eoearth.org/article/Eutrophication>2. "Algal Bloom". ScieneDaily. 8th May, 2010 <http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/a/algal_bloom.htm>. 3. "Harmful Algal Blooms". TPWD. 8th May, 2010

<http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/landwater/water/environconcerns/hab/>. 4. “Eutrophication” Thinkquest. 8th May, 2010 < http://library.thinkquest.org/04oct/01590/pollution/eutrophication.html >5. Eutrophication” Encyclpedia of Earth. 8th May 2010 < http://www.eoearth.org/article/Eutrophication >6. “General Effects of Eutrophication”. 8th May, 20107. http://www.lenntech.com/eutrophication-water-bodies/eutrophication-effects.htm

• 6. Picture citations from slide 4: http://www.astrobio.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/Dramatic-photo-showing-a-red-algal-bloom-at-Leigh-near-Cape-Rodney1.jpeghttp://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/guide/bloom1.jpghttp://www.nccwep.org/img/photos/algae_blooms.jpghttp://www.daviddarling.info/images/algal_bloom.jpghttp://infranetlab.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/09_02_23_algae_farm04.jpghttp://media.canada.com/idl/edjn/20060805/81944-30245.jpghttp://www.sea-way.org/blog/Qingdao_algae_bloom01.JPGhttp://www.eosnap.com/public/media/2008/11/crimea/20081125-crimea-full.jpg

• 7. “Mississippi River Dead Zone” Nasa.gov. 8th May, 2010http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/environment/dead_zone.html• 8. “ World’s Largest DeadZone” National Geographic. 8th May, 2010 <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100305-baltic-sea-algae-dead-zones-water/ >