ALGAL BLOOMS
2As waters warm around the world and global emissions of CO2 increase, harmful algae can thrive. Large algal blooms tend to appear on lakes and shorelines during the summer, but these blooms are getting bigger. Researchers at the Carnegie Institution for Science conducted a global study in 2019 and found that summertime algal blooms increased in more than two-thirds of the 71 sampled lakes, which spanned 33 countries across six continents, over the last 30 years. These blooms can be deadly: they can form dead zones that starve marine life of oxygen and light, and some can even release lethal toxins. In 2020, a 14-mile toxic algal bloom called the ‘red tide’ drifted along the Florida coastline, killing more than 100 manatees and 127 dolphins.