The process of eutrophication happens when natural as well as artificial nutrients, mostly nitrates and phosphates, find their way into an aquatic or terrestrial ecosystem. When these nutrients are added to a water body or soil the consequences can show up in numerous forms. One that flourishes when there is extra nutrients is the growth of the microscopic organisms known as phytoplankton (blue-green algae) in freshwater rivers and lakes. When there is an overabundance of them in a lake or river they show up as a green color on top of the water. Excessive algae bloom and weeds are two other results that can also appear when too many nutrients enter a water body. There are two types of eutrophication, natural and cultural, that occur in water bodies. Natural eutrophication occurs at a much slower rate and can take up to a century for results to be seen. Whereas, cultural eutrophication is the more damaging of the two and usually transpires within a few decades. This is due to the excessive accumulation of nutrients at a much faster speed caused by human error. Cultural eutrophication happens when surface run-off, that contains nitrates and phosphates, moves from one place to another, ending up in a river or lake. Unfortunately, there are times when these nutrients end up being leached into the groundwater. At times eutrophication may be severe enough that it causes the oxygen in these water bodies to become quite low. The results of this is seen in the harmful effect it has on aquatic wildlife, creating what is referred to as dead zones. Cultural eutrophication is a problem that is seen universally. Things are being done to fight the spread of eutrophication, along with trying to reverse the damage it has caused to the aquatic e...
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...phication. Retrieved November 25, 2013, from www.lenntech.com/.../eutrophication-solutions.htm
Mack, J. (2013). Eutrophication. Lake Scientist. Retrieved from http://www.lakescientist.com/.../waterquality/eutrophication.html.
Rast, W., & Thornton, J. A. (1996). Trends in eutrophication research and control. Hydrologica l Processes, 10(2), 295-313.
Smith, V. H., Joye, S. B., & Howarth, R. W. (2006). Eutrophication of freshwater and marine ecosystems. Limnology and Oceanography, 51(1), 351-355.
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United States Department of Commerce (1996). Eutrophication. Retrieved from National
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Nitrogen and nitrates relate to Hypoxia via the process of eutrophication. Since Nitrogen is a limiting nutrient in most waters, the added input of nitrate causes massive growth in algae. The algae rapidly consume all available N, and once the nutrient is limited again, the alga dies en masse. As the alga decomposes, oxygen is depleted in the water. This lowers dangerously lowers the level of dissolved oxygen in the water, which harms living organisms in the area. Small organisms and organisms that are immobile or unable to escape low-oxygen areas are particularly vulnerable. Hypoxia and resulting “dead zones” are harmful to local fishing and shrimping industries and algal blooms hurt the tourism industry. Hypoxia has lead to a decrease of about 25% in the brown shrimp habitat, forcing shrimping operations further offshore. As the hypoxia issue continues to grow, negative human effects will only increase. Since nitrate runoff from ag. has been proven to be the dominant source of hypoxia, policies could be enacted to effectively deal with “point-source” pollution. This makes enacting environmental policy more easily adapted, possibly included in past policy such as the Clean Water Act.
Glibert, Patricia M. and Daniel E. Terlizzi. “Nutrients, Phytoplankton, and Pfiesteria In the Chesapeake Bay.” Available: http://www.arec.umd.edu/policy/Pfiesteria/terlizzi/terlizzi.htm (22 Nov. 1999).
Eutrophication is a concern in the Chesapeake Bay. Eutrophication is caused by excessive amounts of nutrients. Excessive nutrients in the bay have negative affects on the bay's ecosystem. The extra nutrients make the environment unbalanced. The extra nutrients cause a chain reaction that depletes oxygen and kills most of the organisms in that area. This is what is known as a dead zone.
Because of farm fertilizer, an excess quantity of nitrogen and phosphorus can be wash down becoming runoff into rivers. From this, marine algal blooms cause the water to turn green from the chlorophyll (Reed, 2011). Eutrophication then becomes a dilemma in the system causing either an increase of primary production or an expansion of algae. An enormous expansion of phytoplankton on the water’s surface is then established. At the same time the water column is also stratified, meaning things such as the temperature and salinity are not sync from top to bottom. The seasonal warm surface water has a low density forming a saltier layer above while the cooler and more dense water masses near the bottom layer is isolated from the top cutting off oxygen supply from the atmosphere (Overview, 2008).
Eutrophication is a concern in the Chesapeake Bay. Eutrophication is caused by excessive amounts of nutrients. Excessive nutrients in the bay have negative effects on the bay's ecosystem. The extra nutrients make the environment unbalanced. The extra nutrients cause a chain reaction that eventually kills most of the organisms in that area. This is what is known as a dead zone.
be seen in figure 1. This eutrophication is of high importance because the implications that it
The agriculture industries have affected the marine life due to eutrophication. Eutrophication occurs when human activity water because of the chemicals, nitrogen and phosphorus which run off into the water. Eutrophication results in algal bloom. An algal bloom forms when lots of nitrogen and phosphorus are set inside a body of water which results in an excess amount of algae in lakes, oceans, or streams. The waters can not take in a lot of algae because in can affect the habitat of the animals. It can also affect the population of the sea animals.
Pennsylvania has the most acid rain in the country, so it is not a surprise if the creek was polluted, but it’s not. It could be because of limestone rocks, or rocks that neutralize pollution in waters. Are next experiment was a eutrophication Test. A eutrophication is an enrichment of an ecosystem with chemical nutrients typically compounds containing nitrogen, phosphorus, or both. In this test we took samples of water into clear measurable tubes. There is 3 things we tested with water, Phosphate, nitrate, and dissolved oxygen. Phosphates and nitrates are examples of polyatomic ion. Phosphates and nitrates are found in fertilizers and some detergents. We tested for them and we didn’t get big results, so we know that waters aren’t polluted. There was a lot of dissolved oxygen, which is good, because that is what fish need to
Dissolved oxygen is needed by the fish to breathe which, in turn, allows plants to continue to filter water and produce energy. While these properties are important to both the natural environment and a controlled ecosystem, they are taken care of in very different ways. In the natural environment, if there is little human intervention, the aquatic ecosystem will...
The natural level of nitrate is usually low with less than 2 ppm. Meanwhile, the maximum contaminant level goal (MCLG) and local limit is 10 ppm. If the concentration of nitrate in a body of water exceeds 10 ppm, it can cause health problems for humans, such as methemoglobinemia, and a spike in the growth of plant life, such as algae blooms. As for the amount of phosphate, there is an even lower natural concentration with 0.05 ppm and 0.1 ppm for the local limit. Similar to an excess amount of nitrate, a higher presence of phosphate encourages aquatic plant growth but also the growth of plankton. This overproduction of nitrate and phosphate forms a growth of toxic algae blooms that then decrease food supplies and destroy habitats. Since nitrate is required by organisms to function and phosphate is essential to the development of complex cells, the algae that grows from these nutrients blocks out the sunlight for organisms below the surface of the water. Thus, these organisms die off and bacteria decomposes the waste, releasing more phosphate. The decomposition also uses up oxygen in the water, which will severely inhibit the growth of other organisms, like fish. As conditions worsen and the deadly cycle continues, the body of water will age in an
“The wealth of the nation is its air, water, soil, forests, minerals, rivers, lakes, oceans, scenic beauty, wildlife habitats, and biodiversity . . . that’s all there is” (Gaylord). Throughout the recent decades, the wealth of the Chesapeake Bay and adjacent rivers have been affected by a phenomenon called eutrophication. that occurs when there is an excess of a nutrient limited in the water, such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediments (Eney 2009). Those nutrients are naturally good in the environment since they help the bottom of the food chain, but a lot is not always good, and the Chesapeake Bay has been receiving too much of these nutrients during the last years. This causes an explosion of growth an algae (algae bloom). Since algae are photosynthetic their life after the eutrophication occurs is very short. Many algae die without being eaten by the primary consumers and the one that remains without eating after dying begins to decompose, leaving at the bottom of the water an anoxic zone "dead zone" where there is no oxygen for the organisms that live there to survive.
Guinotte, J. M. and Fabry, V. J. (2008), Ocean Acidification and Its Potential Effects on Marine Ecosystems. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1134: 320–342. doi: 10.1196/annals.1439.013
The data we found supported our original water hypothesis. My group and I believed that adding ammonium nitrate into our eco-column would ultimately damage the ecosystems. The increase in levels of minerals from the aquatic ecosystem also indicates that the entire column was being destroyed. Through this experiment, I have learned that too much nutrients and minerals within an ecosystem can be extremely harmful to the wildlife. Throughout this experiment the water in our eco column began to turn yellow because of a surplus of nitrogen and phosphorous in the eco-column. In some of the eco-columns of the other groups in the classroom, they had eutrophication in the early stages of their eco-column which resulted in the death of many of their
Hasegawa, T. 2000. Release of dissolved organic nitrogen by size-fractionated natural planktonic assemblages in coastal waters. Marine Ecology 198: 43-49.
I am particularly surprised how the agricultural industry inflicts these problems on themselves, by excessive use of sewage systems and pollutants which find their way to local rivers [Fig 1.]. The trophic state (i.e. the natural nutrition factors) and biodiversity of lakes and rivers are greatly effected by the main nutrients involved, nitrates and phosphates. The transition occurs mainly between a mesotropic state, with an average biological productivity to a eutrophic state where there is a larger production of organisms due to high nutrient concentrations. Tropical reservoirs in particular often become eutrophic.