Algae Bloom in China a Mystery

surprised this hasnt been posted yet

great pics at link

I don't see much of the 'why' in these articles. Anyone know what is causing this large bloom?

ETA: As in, what is the source of the fuel likely causing this large bloom(?)

A substantial amount of algae called enteromorpha prolifera has invaded the waters and turned everything in its reach a bright green color. The algae bloom is 70 meters wide and 100 meters long, according to China Daily. Read more: www.nydailynews.com... njTszIQ

www.nydailynews.com...

www.chinadaily.com.cn...

reply to post by incrediblelousminds


Perhaps they've accidently created a new life form with their crazy and indiscriminate dumping of chemical wastes into their own waters.

We humans have not been treating the oceans with equality.

i would only be a little phased if a giant microbic creature birthed from the bowels of that algae.

Maybe theres a use for it. i bet it goes great with cooked dog!

reply to post by incrediblelousminds


probably chemical fertilizers dumped into the water creating very high phosphate levels (simply explained as algae food) thus creating an algae feeding frenzy exploding their population exponentially.
but that's just my opinion i could be wrong.

Originally posted by CaDreamer
reply to post by incrediblelousminds

 

probably chemical fertilizers dumped into the water creating very high phosphate levels (simply explained as algae food) thus creating an algae feeding frenzy exploding their population exponentially.

Wow good thinking! you may be on to something. if dried fertilizers created a biological lifeform, or enhanced it - well thatd be somethin ya dont see evryday!

i bet it makes great sushi!!!

reply to post by survival


phosphates or broken down organo-phosphates (fertilizers and pesticides) are in fact what algae thrive on, i deal with it on a daily basis. i work on pools in a highly agricultural area. i have seen first had what fertilizers and pesticides do to algae growth in water. its like algae steroids.

reply to post by incrediblelousminds

reports that the type is from Lolland, Denmark and that it has been lost.

From here


This is odd.... Though references say it shows up in southeast Asia, it says that it is a "lost species" from Denmark. Does this make any sense to anyone?


EDIT: Seems to be current too... As of 2011

Originally posted by CaDreamer
reply to post by survival

 

phosphates or broken down organo-phosphates (fertilizers and pesticides) are in fact what algae thrive on, i deal with it on a daily basis. i work on pools in a highly agricultural area. i have seen first had what fertilizers and pesticides do to algae growth in water. its like algae steroids.

Yeah, i should have been more specific with my question. Like, what is the specific source of whatever is fueling this bloom, i suppose. I'm tired.

Originally posted by Aliensun
reply to post by incrediblelousminds

 

Perhaps they've accidently created a new life form with their crazy and indiscriminate dumping of chemical wastes into their own waters.

I bet you are right, I have seen algae grow in a few different contaminants, like jet fuel, kerosene, and plenty of other things... Have also been to China 4 times and witnessed the incredible pollution in rivers and seas near Shanghai.....Algae has been studied for ages, so you think they would understand it in mainstream science, but maybe it is because they are so busy promoting politically motivated agendas..

reply to post by incrediblelousminds


oh ok then the answer is monsanto...glad i could help.

i have no proof of this though sadly. bet i am pretty close to the truth even so.

Simple solution to this problem..

Algae Power!

The potential of algae to be used as microscopic power plants was first discovered by Hans Gaffron, a German researcher who fled the Nazi party and came to the University of Chicago in the 1930s. Gaffron observed in 1939 that the algae would for a then-unknown reason sometimes switch from producing oxygen to instead creating hydrogen, but only for a short period of time.

For 60 years, researchers tried to harness the power potential of algae, without success.

A breakthrough came in 1999 when University of California at Berkeley professor Tasios Melis, along with researchers from the National Renewable Energy Lab, discovered that depriving the algae of sulfur and oxygen would enable it to produce hydrogen for sustained periods of time.

Sink half of the tax breaks for oil companies into this, and bam. We'd be set. Same for solar and wind.

reply to post by incrediblelousminds


Algae thrives in the presence of phosphates, nitrates and other pollutants that are being dumped into china's rivers and lakes due largely in part to their lack environmental policies and enforcement. When large amounts of these pollutants get released of long periods of time eutrification occurs. Which in a nut shell is an algae bloom.

I wonder if growth hormones or chemicals for plants, which some chinese farmers exploit with no regulation, are flowing into those waters. There have been several stories this past year about exploding fruits/vegetables here that were a result of chemicals used by some farmers. This coupled with unusual climate conditions or water temps may have spurred the erratic growth.
Here is an interesting thread about algae described as a mass murderer.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Peace,
spec

Ships in port suck up water in their bilge tanks to keep level in the high seas.


A ship could have sucked up the algae in Denmark...then dumped it out of their bilge tanks in China.

A bonus for China, that Algae is oxygenating it's water. More oxygen= more fish.

reply to post by alienreality


Remember the pictures of the many Chinese workers cleaning the algae from the river before the summer Olympics so that the boating races could be run? Lots of workers and tons of algae.

We have many lakes which have tremendous algae bloom this summer because of the heat and low amount of rainfall. Some of the strains of algae cause serious upper respiratory problems to folks who are swimming and skiing. A couple of lakes have been closed because of this algae.

The algae strips the water of oxygen and there are fish kills, not unusual in a hot summer.

reply to post by Pervius


Actually algae blooms deplete the oxygen in the water they occupy. As the algae dies off in its natural cycle the algae decomposes and promotes bacteria growth which in turn depletes the oxygen.