Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Ocean Acidification and Diatoms


http://www.co2science.org/subject/o/summaries/acidificationdiatoms.php

Ocean Acidification (Effects on Marine Plants: Phytoplankton, Diatoms) -- Summary
In conclusion, and has been found to be the case for essentially all types of marine phytoplankton, the real-world data that have been obtained to date suggest that earth's diatoms will manage just fine as the air's CO2 content continues to climb to ever-greater heights. And as diatoms serve as primary producers in numerous marine food chains, the several trophic levels above them should also be similarly benefited by the dreaded phenomenon of "ocean acidification."

http://sites.duke.edu/writing20_12_f2011/2011/09/05/ocean-acidification-and-diatoms/

Ocean Acidification and Diatoms


Another experimented conducted entailed the creation of an equilibrium of atmospheric carbon dioxide with bubbled aqueous carbon dioxide. When the carbon dioxide was made to be twice that of normal conditions, consumption increased by 27%. When the carbon dioxide was tripled, the diatoms’ consumption was 39% higher. Estimates say that such carbon dioxide consumption as that described here may in have kept atmospheric levels to 90% of what they would be otherwise since start of the industrial revolution. In yet another study, it was found that certain species of diatoms grow 20% faster when exposed to increased carbon dioxide.
This potentially positive consequence of the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide is not nearly enough to outweigh the negative results of anthropogenic carbon dioxide. Some algae do not, in fact, benefit from increased levels of carbon dioxide. Zooxanthellae, for example, exist symbiotically with coral reefs. If the zooxanthellae colonies grow too large, then they will be doing so at the expense of their coral homes. Some species of phytoplankton may react poorly to the increased acidity. Then we must factor in things such as coral bleaching, coastal erosion, decalcification, and the loss of biodiversity. Indeed, for every possible upside that comes from ocean acidification, it seems that there are two potentially devastating ramifications.


Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Green, Glorious Green Water



http://www.flickriver.com/groups/1080707@N21/pool/interesting/

Green, Glorious Green Water

A great collection of photos of Green Water from all over the world - ponds, lakes, coastal waters, etc.

62 Photos, only 2 don't have green water in them.


Monday, December 10, 2012

Nualgi Lakes


Lake Savers LLC website -
http://lake-savers.com/our-solution/whole-lake-technology/biological-acceleration/

Jack Mosel's blog -
http://www.scoop.it/t/agriculturelakerestorationawarenesssustainability

Video of use in a Lake in New York
http://youtu.be/9Dja4nfAmHI

Nualgi Lakes Fact sheet - by Clean-flo International -
http://www.aquaticrestorationllc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Nualgi-Lakes-Expanded-Fact-Sheet.pdf

Global change and the future of harmful algal blooms in the ocean

http://www.int-res.com/articles/theme/m470p207.pdf


MARINE ECOLOGY PROGRESS SERIES
Mar Ecol Prog Ser


Vol. 470: 207–233, 2012
doi: 10.3354/meps10047
Published December 6, 2012



Global change and the future of harmful algal blooms in the ocean


Fei Xue Fu*, Avery O. Tatters, David A. Hutchins

*The University of Southern California, Department of Biological Sciences, 3616 Trousdale Parkway, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA

ABSTRACT: The frequency and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and phytoplankton
community shifts toward toxic species have increased worldwide. Although most research has
focused on eutrophication as the cause of this trend, many other global- and regional-scale
anthropogenic influences may also play a role. Ocean acidification (high pCO2/low pH), greenhouse
warming, shifts in nutrient availability, ratios, and speciation, changing exposure to solar
irradiance, and altered salinity all have the potential to profoundly affect the growth and toxicity
of these phytoplankton. Except for ocean acidification, the effects of these individual factors on
harmful algae have been studied extensively. In this review, we summarize our understanding of
the influence of each of these single factors on the physiological properties of important marine
HAB groups. We then examine the much more limited literature on how rising CO2 together with
these other concurrent environmental changes may affect these organisms, including what is possibly
the most critical property of many species: toxin production. New work with several diatom
and dinoflagellate species suggests that ocean acidification combined with nutrient limitation or
temperature changes may dramatically increase the toxicity of some harmful groups. This observation
underscores the need for more in-depth consideration of poorly understood interactions
between multiple global change variables on HAB physiology and ecology. A key limitation of
global change experiments is that they typically span only a few algal generations, making it
difficult to predict whether they reflect likely future decadal- or century-scale trends. We conclude
by calling for thoughtfully designed experiments and observations that include adequate
consideration of complex multivariate interactive effects on the long-term responses of HABs to a
rapidly changing future marine environment.

KEY WORDS: Climate change · CO2 · Ocean acidification · Temperature · Stratification · Nutrient
limitation · HAB · Algal toxins · Phycotoxins


Saturday, December 8, 2012

Clean Hussainsagar Campaign

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/hussainsagar-dredging-work-initiated/article4175393.ece


Hussainsagar dredging work initiated

Chief Minister also launches the ‘Clean Hussainsagar’ campaign
As part of a year-long initiative to get rid of pollutants from Hussain Sagar Lake, dredging work at the water body was initiated on Friday.

Sediments

The massive exercise launched by the Chief Minister, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, will help to scoop out sediments to the tune of 10 lakh cubic metre from the confluence points of four inlets of the lake.

The dredging of sediments at three inlets, Balkapur nala, Picket nala and Banjara nala, has started while the work on Kukaptally nala confluence point will be initiated at a later date since sediments here were found to be hazardous.

JICA

One of the major aspects of the Hussainsagar Lake and Catchment Area Improvement Project, the exercise would have the dredged out sediments dried and shifted to existing quarry pits at Jawaharnagar dump yard.

The lake, which has been polluted due to untreated sewage and industrial effluents generated in the catchment of 240 square km through the four inlets, is being restored with the assistance of Japan 

International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to the tune of Rs. 370 crore.

Apart from dredging work, the Chief Minister on Friday also launched the ‘Clean Hussainsagar’ campaign, commissioning of upgraded tertiary level 20 MLD STP at Khairatabad and the 1400 mm Balanagar sewer main.

Reuse of water

The STP has been upgraded to the tertiary level and according to HMDA officials, the treated water would be processed for ultra-filtration by membranes procured from Australia.

The water then gets disinfected of pathogenic bacteria to achieve a quality, which the officials described would be fit for reuse, for non-potable purposes.

Speaking on the occasion of the launch, the Chief Minister called for a concerted effort involving all stakeholders to clean Hussainsagar Lake.

Efforts are on to clean and restore several other smaller water bodies in the city and tough action is in store for those taking up illegal constructions alongside them, he said.

In his address, Labour Minister D. Nagender said the HMDA should not remain mute in issues that threaten the lake and cautioned senior officials of action in case they failed to take steps needed to protect the water body.

Hussainsagar - The lake that was

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-12-08/hyderabad/35688897_1_water-hyacinth-lake-bid-farewell


The lake that was

Chandana Chakrabarti Dec 8, 2012, 07.19AM IST
The Hyderabad of my childhood was so uneventful that a trip to Husainsagar was the highest form of entertainment , a memory one ruminated on for months. In the sixties, the raw beauty of a much larger lake enticed one and all. Tankbund road was narrow, pavements non-existent , and traffic so thin that a snail crossing the road would not run the risk of being run over. The lower tank bund road was a narrow dirt track lining a green expanse of paddy fields . Hotel Marriott stands where a Coca Cola bottling plant, a regular target for school excursions, stood. Connecting the upper and lower Tankbund roads were narrow stone steps on the wall of the bund. We used these steps to go Bharat Sevashram Sangha on the lower road for a community meal at Kali puja on Diwali.
For the non-adventurous , the lake was approachable from the Secunderabad Sailing Club or the Hyderabad Boat Club on the opposite end. A bus ride on the top deck of a doubledecker bus through Tankbund was enticing . Racing records were broken and set on Tankbund road.
A small kebaband-paratha shop opposite the lakeside and a restaurant at the level of water on the Tankbund road which had an open shelter as a roof-top , were favourite haunts. Bongs had their fi ll of fish from the closeby stall of the fisheries department. In the late seventies , water hyacinth aggressively claimed the lake, making it look like a vast green expanse. The battle against it was not easy and became almost a full-time research obsession with RRLabs.
Every Durga puja, on Dashami, Durga was bid farewell in the lake by half-a-dozen Bengali clubs who used Hyderabad Boat Club premises for immersion . More than faith, it was our only chance to get on an open lorry, shout, sing, dance and be boisterous. The unique sight of the army puja's amphibian truck, which moved on land and water attracted crowds and made us feel proud. Ganesh festival till the end of seventies was virtually unknown in Hyderabad. Since then with every passing year Ganesh immersion has only grown larger and more aggressive , contributing to the lead, mercury and cadmium levels of the lake, besides the silt. Bongs are, perhaps, to be blamed for showing the way.
Through the eighties and nineties, dramatic changes swept the lake's environs . Tankbund road got broadened, beautified and statuefied ! The Buddha Purnima Project got underway, the Necklace road came up, and the monolith Buddha was transported prostrate on a huge vehicle with over a hundred wheels, only to fall in the lake on its way to the rock of Gibralter , killing several people.
But there were other ugly things happening along with the beautifi cation . Patancheru industrial estate's effluents and the city's sewage began to get free access to the lake. The clear water of the lake went so turbid that Buddha's rescue was a nightmare. Stench around the lake became insufferable. Governor Kumudben Joshi as also Governor Kishan Kant would lament in personal conversation about how the stench obliterated the joy of an enticing view from their residence. Then came a time when eating the lake's fi sh could endanger one's health.
Although Husainsagar's beautifi cation has enraptured everyone, the lake has been dying a slow death. Moreover , the banks of Husainsagar has become the best destination for the lastjourney of our politicians. And who knows, the fate of Masab tank might befall Husainsagar in a few decades, and then the transition from a park to a mall will be only a matter of real estatestrategy!
Time and again, independent organisations have run extensive experiments to study the water quality of the Hussainsagar. The results, each time, have thrown up startling facts about the deteriorating condition of the city's most important water body. Excerpts from some of those studies:
National Environmental Engineering Research Institute: 1997-98

This water quality assessment was conducted by NEERI on the request of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board. The study revealed a very low, and in some locations zero, presence of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the Hussainsagar thereby indicating the fragile lake water quality and the effect of organic pollution. The study concluded that the lake was in an advanced stage of 'Eutrophication' , which means that there was an increased plant growth in the water body. According to experts this accelerated growth is either due to natural fertilizing agents washed from the soil or dumping of chemical fertilizers. Eutrophication may also occur due to drainage of sewage, industrial wastes or detergents into a body of water.
Ecology & Environment Group, National Geophysical Research Institute: 2007-08
The paper was prepared by members of NGRI and points to the risk posed to the aquatic environment of Hussainsagar, thanks to the presence of heavy metals in the water, especially lead. Tracing the pollution 'history' of the lake, the study points out how the water body initially did absorb the pollution impact. But once its natural carrying capacity reached its limits, adverse effects of the pollution started manifesting around 1970 in the form of deteriorating water quality, fowl smell, wild growth of macrophytes and breeding of mosquitoes. By 1992, according to the paper, the lake was reduced to a cesspool.
As part of a comprehensive report on the water situation in India, 'Excreta Matters' , the centre also studied the situation of water bodies in Hyderabad. It concluded that the Hussainsagar, once a primary source of drinking water of the city, had shrunk significantly over the years and was posed with a serious threat from pollution and encroachment in this catchment area.