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Toxic algae and West Coast marine life

June 5, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Over the first several months of this year, hundreds of sea lions, dolphins, and seabirds have fallen ill or died after eating sardines or anchovies that had been feeding on an algal bloom along the California coast since winter. The biotoxin in the algae accumulates in the feeder fish.

Two cases of whales dying from the biotoxin have been confirmed by two nonprofit organizations tasked with testing dead mammals. These were a humpback that washed ashore in Huntington Beach in January and a minke whale found dead in Long Beach in April.

This is the fourth year a row that California has experienced major algal blooms. Warmer waters are causing blooms to be bigger and more damaging than they have been before. They enter into new areas and contaminate the food web for longer. The warmer waters accelerate algae growth that is further fueled by nutrients that rise to the surface from deeper colder waters driven by winds that blow parallel to the coast. This year’s algae event started earlier than usual and is lasting longer than normal.

More than a dozen animal rescue and rehabilitation groups that form NOAA’s West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network are providing resources to try to respond to the situation. At the Marine Mammal Care Center in Los Angeles, more than 80 sea lions and seals were being treated for domoic acid poisoning, the result of ingesting algae neurotoxin. Since February, it has cared for more than 300 poisoned animals.

Marine mammals are sentinel species for humans who also consume seafood. The West Coast ocean ecosystem is currently filled with toxins.

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California Toxic Algal Bloom Blamed for Months-long Marine Life Poisoning

Photo, posted March 26, 2025, courtesy of Marnee Jill via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Adirondack lakes becoming inhospitable for trout

February 15, 2024 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A combination of the warming climate and the phenomenon of lake browning are making the bottom of most lakes in New York’s Adirondack Mountains unlivable for cold water fish – such as trout, salmon, and whitefish – in the summer.

Lake browning occurs when dissolved organic matter from forests turns the water tea-brown. Browning is the legacy of a century of acid rain and subsequently the fact that forest soils have suffered reduced capacity to absorb weak organic acids, leading to more dissolved plant matter flowing into lakes. Climate change has increased the frequency of extreme precipitation events and the length of growing seasons, leading to more runoff of organic matter.

Browner water traps more of the sun’s heat at the top of the lake and blocks the sun’s rays from reaching deeper. The result of the browning is lakes that are either too warm or too deoxygenated to support trout populations.

A study of 1,467 Adirondack lakes by Cornell University researchers found that only about 5% of them may continue to maintain water that is cold and oxygenated enough to support cold-water fish.

Deeper lakes fare much better because they have so much water that their oxygen is hard to deplete, but only 1% of all Adirondack lakes are deeper than 30 meters. Another 4% are very clear because the influx of cold water outpaces the expansion of low-oxygen zones and limits the effects of browning.

The study urges the protection of as many lakes as possible from species invasions, nutrient and salt pollution, and other forms of environmental degradation.

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Most Adirondack lakes will likely become unsuitable for trout

Photo, posted July 17, 2011, courtesy of Lida via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Deeper corals bleaching

December 7, 2023 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

When ocean waters get too warm, corals – which are actually tiny animals – eject the colorful algae that inhabit their tissues. The symbiotic relationship between coral polyps and algae is essential to coral survival When the algae is ejected, previously colorful coral turns white, and the coral can ultimately die. If waters cool off, the algae can reestablish themselves and the coral can regain its color and health.

The world’s oceans have been warming at an unprecedented rate, making coral bleaching and die-off a global phenomenon. It is estimated that half of the planet’s reefs have already disappeared. Some places are worse off than others. For example, almost 95% of coral reefs in Southeast Asia are threatened. Florida’s reefs are especially threatened, particularly since there have been unprecedented marine heatwaves off its coast.

It has long been assumed that deeper reefs, where water is cooler, would remain safe from the effects of warming, but a few years ago researchers recorded coral bleaching some 300 feet underwater along the Egmont Atoll in the western Indian Ocean. At one point, bleaching affected 80% of corals in some areas. This discovery came as a huge surprise to oceanographers. It was probably associated with an El Niño-like phenomenon in the waters and those reefs have mostly recovered in the intervening years.

Fairly recently, researchers have found pristine coral reefs deep down in the waters off the Galapagos Islands, where shallow reefs have largely disappeared. There are likely to be similar reefs in the ocean depths around the world, but scientists are expressing concern that even coral reefs lying deep beneath the ocean surface may not ultimately be protected from the warming seas.

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As Oceans Warm, Coral Bleaching Seen at Greater Depths

Photo, posted June 5, 2023, courtesy of Ryan Hagerty / USFWS via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Climate Change And The Color Of Lakes | Earth Wise

October 19, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

**According to a new study recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, blue lakes around the world are at risk of turning green-brown if climate change continues unabated.**

For the study, the research team used over five million satellite images of more than 85,000 lakes and reservoirs around the globe between 2013 and 2020 in order to determine each lake’s most common water color. Since lake color can change seasonally, the researchers assessed the most frequent lake color during those seven years.

Algae and sediments affect the color of lakes. But the study found that precipitation, air temperature, lake depth, and elevation also play major roles in determining a lake’s most common water color.

The research team found that blue lakes account for less than one-third of lakes worldwide. Blue lakes tend to be deeper and are often found in cool, high latitude regions with high precipitation and winter ice cover. Meanwhile, green-brown lakes, which account for 69% of all lakes, are found in drier regions, continental interiors, and along coastlines.

As global temperatures rise, lakes will warm, and warmer water produces more algal blooms. As a result, the researchers expect the changing climate to decrease the percentage of blue lakes, many of which are found in the Rocky Mountains, northeastern Canada, northern Europe and New Zealand.

Water color is a simple but viable way to measure water quality that can be done on a global scale using satellites. This approach provides researchers with a way to study how lakes – even the remote ones – are changing.

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Climate change is making lakes turn green-brown

Photo, posted August 27, 2011, courtesy of Paul Schultz via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

Floating Offshore Wind | Earth Wise

April 21, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

According to a new report by the Global Wind Energy Council, floating offshore wind technology is on track to grow from a miniscule market to a substantial contribution to the world’s energy supply over the next decade. Furthermore, the United States represents one of the countries with the greatest potential.

Wind power is stronger and steadier in the ocean than on land, so the use of offshore wind is rapidly expanding. However, because most installations are based on fixed structures attached to the sea bottom, they cannot be installed in very deep or complex seabed locations.

Floating offshore wind is based on structures that are anchored to the seabed only by means of flexible anchors, chains, or steel cables. Apart from making it feasible to place wind turbines in deeper and more distant locations, floating turbines and platforms can also be built and assembled on land and then towed to the offshore installation site.

The floating offshore wind industry is currently in a pre-commercial phase but has great potential. Many offshore locations with great potential in terms of their wind resources are unsuitable for conventional installations either because of the depth of the seabed or its complex structure. This is particularly true of the waters off the coasts of California, Oregon, and the Gulf Coast, which otherwise offer excellent wind resources.

There are many issues to deal with in expanding the use of floating offshore wind, including transporting the power to shore and the ability of the local power grids to handle the incoming power. On the other hand, distantly placed floating offshore wind reduces environmental concerns and eliminates issues associated with the visual impact of wind farms for coastal residents.

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What’s the potential of floating offshore wind?

Photo, posted May 10, 2015, courtesy of Olin Gilbert via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Safely Storing Carbon | Earth Wise

February 28, 2022 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

As carbon dioxide levels continue to increase in the atmosphere and emissions reductions aren’t happening as fast as needed, there is growing interest in carbon capture and storage technologies.

The idea is to capture the CO2 emitted from industrial processes or from the burning of fossil fuels in power generation, and then permanently store it out of harm’s way. There are several different types of sites where the CO2 might be stored. Deep saline aquifers are particularly desirable for the purpose, but depleted hydrocarbon reservoirs are commonplace and relatively simple to use. These are oil and gas wells that have been drained of their resources.

In many cases, CO2 has already been injected into these depleted wells as a means of enhanced oil recovery. Therefore, such wells provide a unique opportunity to study what happens to carbon dioxide when it’s stored in these places.

Researchers from Oxford University recently published a paper in the journal Nature that compared the state of depleted wells with injected carbon dioxide to that of wells without the injected gas. They found that nearly 3/4 of the CO2 was dissolved in the groundwater. Unexpectedly, they also found that 13-19% of the carbon dioxide was converted into methane by methanogenic bacteria. Methane is less soluble, less compressible, and less reactive than carbon dioxide.

Producing methane in these wells is therefore undesirable. Deeper sites that have temperatures too high for the bacteria to thrive are much more suitable. This research is important for identifying future carbon capture and storage sites and for designing long-term monitoring programs that are essential for low-risk, long-term carbon storage.

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Safer carbon capture and storage

Photo, posted November 6, 2015, courtesy of CL Baker via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.