Phytoplankton blooms see two-decade surge along world’s coastlines
Huge blooms of phytoplankton — microscopic algae floating on the ocean’s surface — have become larger and more frequent along the world’s coastlines, according to new research, bringing benefits to fisheries but also potentially causing harm. Between 2003 and 2020, coastal phytoplankton blooms increased by about 13% in extent, covering an additional 4 million square kilometres of the global ocean, the Nature study found. And the blooms occurred more often, up by 59% during that period. … [Phytoplankton can starve] the ocean of oxygen and leading to “dead zones” that wreak chaos on the food chain and fisheries. … While some regions saw weaker blooms over the past two decades, including the California Current, blooms strengthened in the northern Gulf of Mexico and the East and South China Seas. … Fertilizer runoff from agriculture can spike nutrient loads in the ocean, leading to blooms.