Originally published April 18 2005
Agricultural runoff disrupting oceanic ecosystems, says study
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
A study by scientists at Stanford University has provided evidence of a direct link between farms near coastlines and sudden blooms of algae in the ocean that can disrupt entire ecosystems. The study examined satellite imagery of the Gulf of California, an area rich in biodiversity and one of Mexico's important commercial fishing centers. Analysis of the images showed that after major irrigation events in adjoining farms, there were large blooms of phytoplankton in the Gulf. Phytoplankton blooms can release huge quantities of toxins into the water, killing mollusks and fish. Aside from the direct poisoning, algae blooms can also cause "dead zones" in the water, de-aerated sections measuring thousands of square miles where few sea creatures can survive.
Researchers have long suspected that fertilizer runoff from big farms can trigger sudden explosions of marine algae capable of disrupting ocean ecosystems and even producing "dead zones" in the sea.
Now a new study by Stanford University scientists presents the first direct evidence linking large-scale coastal farming to massive algal blooms in the sea.
Kevin Arrigo (left), associate professor of geophysics; Pamela Matson, dean of the School of Earth Sciences; and Mike Beman, a doctoral student in the Geological and Environmental Sciences Department, used satellite imagery to demonstrate how agricultural runoff fuels large algal blooms in vulnerable areas of the ocean.
The study is based on satellite imagery of Mexico's Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez---a narrow, 700-mile-long stretch of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Mexican mainland from the Baja California Peninsula.
"Biological productivity in most of the world's oceans is controlled by the supply of nutrients to the surface water," wrote the authors, who are all affiliated with Stanford's School of Earth Sciences.
In the gulf, wind-driven upwellings regularly bring nitrogen and other nutrients from the seafloor to the surface, stimulating the rapid reproduction and growth of microscopic algae called phytoplankton.
"There has been an international effort to try to understand the productivity of the oceans and their potential vulnerability to nitrogen," said Pamela A. Matson, the dean of the School of Earth Sciences and co-author of the Nature study.
To assess the impact of agricultural runoff on the gulf, the Stanford scientists turned their attention to one of Mexico's most productive coastal farming regions---the Yaqui River Valley, which drains into the gulf.
Matson and her colleagues wondered if each fertilization and irrigation event would trigger a noticeable phytoplankton bloom near the mouth of the Yaqui River, which is located on the mainland side of the gulf.
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