algae

By Larry Brand Millions of gallons of water laced with fertilizer ingredients are being pumped into Florida’s Tampa Bay from a leaking reservoir at an abandoned phosphate plant at Piney Point. As the water spreads into the bay, it carries phosphorus and nitrogen – nutrients that under the right conditions can fuel dangerous algae blooms […]

Harmful algal blooms may be even more harmful than we thought. They have already been shown to kill the fish that swim in the water they infest or the animals that drink from it. Now, new research indicates they could even poison the air. In a study published in Lake and Reservoir Management this month, […]

By Diane Kim, Ignacio Navarrete and Jessica Dutton Giant kelp, the world’s largest species of marine algae, is an attractive source for making biofuels. In a recent study, we tested a novel strategy for growing kelp that could make it possible to produce it continuously on a large scale. The key idea is moving kelp […]

By Andrew Blok Great Lakes algae is catching huge amounts of microplastics. Researchers found that one type of algae, which has greatly expanded its range within the Great Lakes and is one of the most abundant algae by weight there, could catch up to one trillion pieces of microplastic in the Great Lakes. “It’s just […]

By Chaoqun Lu Some effects of extreme weather are visible – like half a million acres of flattened corn in Iowa left behind after a derecho that hit the Midwestern United States on Aug. 10. Other effects are harder to measure, but can be just as harmful. One example is agricultural nitrogen runoff from farmlands […]

By Arohi Sharma Quarantining and sheltering in place from COVID-19 has a lot of us going stir-crazy — myself included. With summer in full swing, more of us are itching to get outside safely. Unfortunately, we’re also right in the middle of peak harmful algal bloom (HAB) season. While state agencies are understandably redirecting resources […]

In a troubling sign for the future of the Italian Alps, the snow and ice in a glacier is turning pink due to the growth of snow-melting algae, according to scientists studying the pink ice phenomenon, as CNN reported. The algae will make the snow melt faster. The salmon-hue that has tinged the snow is […]

By Josh Bonifield The Australian brewery Young Henrys is working to fight climate change with an unusual ingredient—algae. The fermentation process that occurs during beer production releases massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), which can contribute to climate change. It takes a tree approximately two days to absorb the CO2 released from producing one six […]