Blue Legacy - Louisiana: Downstream dead zone
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Dead Zones
Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences
http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/2008-dead-zones-spread.php
Diaz and Rosenberg write “There’s no other variable of such ecological importance to coastal marine ecosystems that has changed so drastically over such a short time as dissolved oxygen.”
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We can only reply.
There is no solution that increases Dissolved Oxygen as dramatically as Nualgi and Diatom Algae.
http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/2008-dead-zones-spread.php
Diaz and Rosenberg write “There’s no other variable of such ecological importance to coastal marine ecosystems that has changed so drastically over such a short time as dissolved oxygen.”
-------------
We can only reply.
There is no solution that increases Dissolved Oxygen as dramatically as Nualgi and Diatom Algae.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
World’s dust bowl - Diatom dust - Africa to South America
http://www.deccanherald.com/content/18880/worlds-dust-bowl.html
World’s dust bowl
Changing ecosystems: Recent studies highlight the potential for changes in the quantities of desert dust, and the consequent alterations in ecosystems functioning in places far flung from the sources of desert dust. So, half of all the Amazonian dust supply is from the Sahara desert, writes Meera Iyer
We already know that climate change might drastically alter landscapes around the world. Interestingly, one of the prime agents of changing ecology might be dust from deserts, and often where you least expect it.
Several studies have shown that the Sahara desert is the world’s largest source of desert dust. A mind boggling 240 ± 80 million tons of dust is transported from the Sahara desert to the Atlantic Ocean and beyond every year.
Dustiest place in the world
Within the Sahara, the Bodélé Depression, on the northeastern end of Lake Chad, is notable as the single largest source of dust, responsible for about half of all the dust in the Sahara! This seems extraordinary, considering that the Bodélé Depression is only 150 km2, or about 0.2 per cent of the area of the Sahara desert.
The Bodélé owes its status as the world’s premier dust source to its past history, its unique topography and the resultant weather patterns.
Today’s Lake Chad is but a poor shadow of the vast lake that existed here about 7,000 years ago, at which point Mega-Chad was the world’s biggest lake. Diatoms – a type of algae found in water bodies – thrived here.
The remains of their silicaceous shells were deposited in thick layers on the lakebed, forming a soft rock called diatomite, which was exposed once the lake began drying. This very fine-grained mineral is easily dislodged and transported by the strong near-surface winds here (called the low-level jet) which are accelerated and funnelled by mountains on the north and southeast of the Bodélé.
About 50 million tons of all the dust transported out of Africa reached the Amazon rainforest every year. And about half of all the Amazonian dust supply is from the Bodélé, making it the largest supplier of dust to the Amazon.
For most of us, dust is merely something to be periodically cleared off surfaces, an irritant that we would gladly be rid of. But Saharan dust is in fact a lifeline for the rainforest. The soils of the Amazon basin are typically nutrient-poor, so that the rainforest trees are able to maintain their nutrient balance only through the inputs of nutrient-rich desert dust from the across the Atlantic Ocean.
Impacts of climate change
Two recent studies highlight the potential for changes in the quantities of desert dust, and the consequent alterations in ecosystem functioning in places far flung from the sources of desert dust.
In a paper published in late July in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Richard Washington from the University of Oxford, along with colleagues from Universite Blaise Pascal in France and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research in Germany, outline how the Bodélé Depression could be considered a tipping element for climate. Taking off from Malcolm Gladwell’s enormously popular book on tipping points – about how “little things can make a big difference”, a tipping element in the earth’s climate describes components of the Earth system that may pass a tipping point.
To determine how climate change may impact the production of dust from the Bodélé, Washington et al.’s paper focused on the controls on the amounts of dust produced, viz., controls on the strong near-surface winds, and on the amounts of diatomite available for erosion.
The authors used leading models of the Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison for the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to estimate the effects of climate change on the Bodélé.
Based on these climate models, and with the caveat that there is a great deal of uncertainty in the models, the authors expect an increase in rainfall over the region. Lake Chad has in fact emptied and refilled more than three times in the last 3-4000 years, with dust output dropping to zero during wetter periods and increasing once again during dry periods.
However, the authors aver that the rainfall increases predicted by the climate change models would be insufficient to cause a drop in dust production.
Instead, the researchers believe that climate change could in fact increase the amounts of Bodélé dust produced over the coming century.
This is based on climate models that also predict an increase in near surface wind speeds in this region in the later decades of the coming century.
Impact on alpine ecosystem
A second paper, also in PNAS, examines the impacts of increasing desert dust on the alpine ecosystem of the San Juan mountains, Colorado, USA. Dust here comes largely from the southwestern United States, with minor inputs from Asia. In the last two hundred years, the introduction and expansion of livestock rearing and railways in the southwest has led to an astonishing 500% increase in dust deposition in the San Juan.
To understand the possible implications of such an increase, Heidi Steltzer from Colorado State University and colleagues, set up experimental plots in the mountains, adding desert dust to some plots, removing naturally arrived dust from a second set and leaving a third set of test plots unchanged.
They found that increased dust deposition caused snows to melt 7 to 13 days earlier. Interestingly, climate warming in the region also advances snowmelt, but because early snowmelt caused by dust is not accompanied with higher temperatures, it has different biological consequences. The researches found that it led to synchronised growth and flowering across species, a result which could impact ecosystem functioning, including nutrient cycling, and inter-species interactions and hence species compositions.
World’s dust bowl
Changing ecosystems: Recent studies highlight the potential for changes in the quantities of desert dust, and the consequent alterations in ecosystems functioning in places far flung from the sources of desert dust. So, half of all the Amazonian dust supply is from the Sahara desert, writes Meera Iyer
We already know that climate change might drastically alter landscapes around the world. Interestingly, one of the prime agents of changing ecology might be dust from deserts, and often where you least expect it.
Several studies have shown that the Sahara desert is the world’s largest source of desert dust. A mind boggling 240 ± 80 million tons of dust is transported from the Sahara desert to the Atlantic Ocean and beyond every year.
Dustiest place in the world
Within the Sahara, the Bodélé Depression, on the northeastern end of Lake Chad, is notable as the single largest source of dust, responsible for about half of all the dust in the Sahara! This seems extraordinary, considering that the Bodélé Depression is only 150 km2, or about 0.2 per cent of the area of the Sahara desert.
The Bodélé owes its status as the world’s premier dust source to its past history, its unique topography and the resultant weather patterns.
Today’s Lake Chad is but a poor shadow of the vast lake that existed here about 7,000 years ago, at which point Mega-Chad was the world’s biggest lake. Diatoms – a type of algae found in water bodies – thrived here.
The remains of their silicaceous shells were deposited in thick layers on the lakebed, forming a soft rock called diatomite, which was exposed once the lake began drying. This very fine-grained mineral is easily dislodged and transported by the strong near-surface winds here (called the low-level jet) which are accelerated and funnelled by mountains on the north and southeast of the Bodélé.
About 50 million tons of all the dust transported out of Africa reached the Amazon rainforest every year. And about half of all the Amazonian dust supply is from the Bodélé, making it the largest supplier of dust to the Amazon.
For most of us, dust is merely something to be periodically cleared off surfaces, an irritant that we would gladly be rid of. But Saharan dust is in fact a lifeline for the rainforest. The soils of the Amazon basin are typically nutrient-poor, so that the rainforest trees are able to maintain their nutrient balance only through the inputs of nutrient-rich desert dust from the across the Atlantic Ocean.
Impacts of climate change
Two recent studies highlight the potential for changes in the quantities of desert dust, and the consequent alterations in ecosystem functioning in places far flung from the sources of desert dust.
In a paper published in late July in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Richard Washington from the University of Oxford, along with colleagues from Universite Blaise Pascal in France and the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research in Germany, outline how the Bodélé Depression could be considered a tipping element for climate. Taking off from Malcolm Gladwell’s enormously popular book on tipping points – about how “little things can make a big difference”, a tipping element in the earth’s climate describes components of the Earth system that may pass a tipping point.
To determine how climate change may impact the production of dust from the Bodélé, Washington et al.’s paper focused on the controls on the amounts of dust produced, viz., controls on the strong near-surface winds, and on the amounts of diatomite available for erosion.
The authors used leading models of the Program for Climate Model Diagnosis and Intercomparison for the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to estimate the effects of climate change on the Bodélé.
Based on these climate models, and with the caveat that there is a great deal of uncertainty in the models, the authors expect an increase in rainfall over the region. Lake Chad has in fact emptied and refilled more than three times in the last 3-4000 years, with dust output dropping to zero during wetter periods and increasing once again during dry periods.
However, the authors aver that the rainfall increases predicted by the climate change models would be insufficient to cause a drop in dust production.
Instead, the researchers believe that climate change could in fact increase the amounts of Bodélé dust produced over the coming century.
This is based on climate models that also predict an increase in near surface wind speeds in this region in the later decades of the coming century.
Impact on alpine ecosystem
A second paper, also in PNAS, examines the impacts of increasing desert dust on the alpine ecosystem of the San Juan mountains, Colorado, USA. Dust here comes largely from the southwestern United States, with minor inputs from Asia. In the last two hundred years, the introduction and expansion of livestock rearing and railways in the southwest has led to an astonishing 500% increase in dust deposition in the San Juan.
To understand the possible implications of such an increase, Heidi Steltzer from Colorado State University and colleagues, set up experimental plots in the mountains, adding desert dust to some plots, removing naturally arrived dust from a second set and leaving a third set of test plots unchanged.
They found that increased dust deposition caused snows to melt 7 to 13 days earlier. Interestingly, climate warming in the region also advances snowmelt, but because early snowmelt caused by dust is not accompanied with higher temperatures, it has different biological consequences. The researches found that it led to synchronised growth and flowering across species, a result which could impact ecosystem functioning, including nutrient cycling, and inter-species interactions and hence species compositions.
Monday, August 10, 2009
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/water/bgalgae/
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Blue-green Algae
Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, occur naturally as part of the food chain and are found all over the world. They are structurally similar to bacteria but, like plants, use sunlight to grow. They are everywhere in Florida’s freshwater and brackish habitats, such as lakes, rivers, and estuaries. Blue-green algae are also common in Georgia, Texas and Alabama. Some – not all – blue-green algae can produce toxins that can contribute to environmental problems and affect public health. You can find more information on health aspects of blue-green algae from the Florida Department of Health. Scientists know little about what causes the algae to turn toxic and even those blue-green algae that are known to produce toxins do not always do so.
There are no short-term solutions to correcting the situation; this is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has occurred throughout history. However, Florida monitors blue-green algae closely because nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) pollution appears to intensify blue-green algae outbreaks. The state is taking measures that in the long term will reduce nutrient loading and improve water quality.
Algal blooms were documented in Florida’s coastal waters as early as the 19th Century. In 1998, recognizing the need to assess the status of toxic microalgae in Florida, the state legislature approved funding for the Florida Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force. The Task Force was created to address potential concerns regarding microalgae, including blue-green algae, through monitoring and investigation. Information on blue-green algae and other harmful algal bloom events is available from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and from the Florida Department of Health Aquatic Toxins Program.
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Rather unfortunate that people are fatalistic about blue green algae blooms and are not willing to look for logical solutions to the problem.
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Blue-green Algae
Blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria, occur naturally as part of the food chain and are found all over the world. They are structurally similar to bacteria but, like plants, use sunlight to grow. They are everywhere in Florida’s freshwater and brackish habitats, such as lakes, rivers, and estuaries. Blue-green algae are also common in Georgia, Texas and Alabama. Some – not all – blue-green algae can produce toxins that can contribute to environmental problems and affect public health. You can find more information on health aspects of blue-green algae from the Florida Department of Health. Scientists know little about what causes the algae to turn toxic and even those blue-green algae that are known to produce toxins do not always do so.
There are no short-term solutions to correcting the situation; this is a naturally occurring phenomenon that has occurred throughout history. However, Florida monitors blue-green algae closely because nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus) pollution appears to intensify blue-green algae outbreaks. The state is taking measures that in the long term will reduce nutrient loading and improve water quality.
Algal blooms were documented in Florida’s coastal waters as early as the 19th Century. In 1998, recognizing the need to assess the status of toxic microalgae in Florida, the state legislature approved funding for the Florida Harmful Algal Bloom Task Force. The Task Force was created to address potential concerns regarding microalgae, including blue-green algae, through monitoring and investigation. Information on blue-green algae and other harmful algal bloom events is available from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and from the Florida Department of Health Aquatic Toxins Program.
--------------------------------------
Rather unfortunate that people are fatalistic about blue green algae blooms and are not willing to look for logical solutions to the problem.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
The Diatom Story - Video
A 20 minute video about Diatoms and Nualgi is available on youtube in two parts.
The links are -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8M6eV9-7OA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp7KV310slI
The links are -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8M6eV9-7OA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xp7KV310slI
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles
http://www.earth-stream.com/outpage.php?s=18&id=188819
Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles, Once In Concert, Falling Out Of Sync
ScienceDaily (Aug. 4, 2009) — What do the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone," global climate change, and acid rain have in common? They're all a result of human impacts to Earth's biology, chemistry and geology, and the natural cycles that involve all three.
On August 4-5, 2009, scientists who study such cycles--biogeochemists--will convene at a special series of sessions at the Ecological Society of America (ESA)'s 94th annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M.
They will present results of research supported through various National Science Foundation (NSF) efforts, including coupled biogeochemical cycles (CBC) funding. CBC is an emerging scientific discipline that looks at how Earth's biogeochemical cycles interact.
"Advancing our understanding of Earth's systems increasingly depends on collaborations between bioscientists and geoscientists," said James Collins, NSF assistant director for biological sciences. "The interdisciplinary science of biogeochemistry is a way of connecting processes happening in local ecosystems with phenomena occurring on a global scale, like climate change."
A biogeochemical cycle is a pathway by which a chemical element, such as carbon, or compound, like water, moves through Earth's biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.
In effect, the element is "recycled," although in some cycles the element is accumulated or held for long periods of time.
Chemical compounds are passed from one organism to another, and from one part of the biosphere to another, through biogeochemical cycles.
Water, for example, can go through three phases (liquid, solid, gas) as it cycles through the Earth system. It evaporates from plants as well as land and ocean surfaces into the atmosphere and, after condensing in clouds, returns to Earth as rain and snow.
Researchers are discovering that biogeochemical cycles--whether the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the carbon cycle, or others--happen in concert with one another. Biogeochemical cycles are "coupled" to each other and to Earth's physical features.
"Historically, biogeochemists have focused on specific cycles, such as the carbon cycle or the nitrogen cycle," said Tim Killeen, NSF assistant director for geosciences. "Biogeochemical cycles don't exist in isolation, however. There is no nitrogen cycle without a carbon cycle, a hydrogen cycle, an oxygen cycle, and even cycles of trace metals such as iron."
Now, with global warming and other planet-wide impacts, biogeochemical cycles are being drastically altered. Like broken gears in machinery that was once finely-tuned, these cycles are falling out of sync.
Knowledge about coupled biogeochemical cycles is "essential to addressing a range of human impacts," said Jon Cole, a biogeochemist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y., and co-organizer of the CBC symposium at ESA.
"It will shed light on questions such as the success of wetland restoration and the status of aquatic food webs. The special CBC conference sessions at ESA will explore future research needs in environmental chemistry, with a focus on how global climate change may impact various habitats."
Earth's habitats have different chemical compositions. Oceans are wet and salty; forest soils are rich in organic forms of nitrogen and carbon that retain moisture.
The atmosphere has a fairly constant chemical composition--roughly 79 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen, and a 1 percent mix of other gases like water, carbon dioxide, and methane.
"Seemingly subtle chemical changes may have large effects," said Cole.
"Consider that global climate change is caused by increases in carbon dioxide and methane, gases which occupy less than ½ of one percent of the atmosphere. Now more than ever, we need a comprehensive view of Earth's biogeochemical cycles."
The study of coupled biogeochemical cycles has direct management applications.
The "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is one example. Nitrogen-based fertilizers make their way from Iowa cornfields to the Mississippi River, where they are transported to the Gulf of Mexico. Once deposited in the Gulf, nitrogen stimulates algal blooms.
When the algae die, their decomposition consumes oxygen, creating an area of water roughly the size of New Jersey that is inhospitable to aquatic life. Protecting the Gulf's fisheries--with an estimated annual value of half-a-billion dollars--relies on understanding how coupled biogeochemical cycles interact.
A better understanding of the relationship between nitrogen and oxygen cycles may help determine how best to use nitrogen fertilizers, for example, to avoid dead zones.
Earth's Biogeochemical Cycles, Once In Concert, Falling Out Of Sync
ScienceDaily (Aug. 4, 2009) — What do the Gulf of Mexico's "dead zone," global climate change, and acid rain have in common? They're all a result of human impacts to Earth's biology, chemistry and geology, and the natural cycles that involve all three.
On August 4-5, 2009, scientists who study such cycles--biogeochemists--will convene at a special series of sessions at the Ecological Society of America (ESA)'s 94th annual meeting in Albuquerque, N.M.
They will present results of research supported through various National Science Foundation (NSF) efforts, including coupled biogeochemical cycles (CBC) funding. CBC is an emerging scientific discipline that looks at how Earth's biogeochemical cycles interact.
"Advancing our understanding of Earth's systems increasingly depends on collaborations between bioscientists and geoscientists," said James Collins, NSF assistant director for biological sciences. "The interdisciplinary science of biogeochemistry is a way of connecting processes happening in local ecosystems with phenomena occurring on a global scale, like climate change."
A biogeochemical cycle is a pathway by which a chemical element, such as carbon, or compound, like water, moves through Earth's biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and lithosphere.
In effect, the element is "recycled," although in some cycles the element is accumulated or held for long periods of time.
Chemical compounds are passed from one organism to another, and from one part of the biosphere to another, through biogeochemical cycles.
Water, for example, can go through three phases (liquid, solid, gas) as it cycles through the Earth system. It evaporates from plants as well as land and ocean surfaces into the atmosphere and, after condensing in clouds, returns to Earth as rain and snow.
Researchers are discovering that biogeochemical cycles--whether the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the carbon cycle, or others--happen in concert with one another. Biogeochemical cycles are "coupled" to each other and to Earth's physical features.
"Historically, biogeochemists have focused on specific cycles, such as the carbon cycle or the nitrogen cycle," said Tim Killeen, NSF assistant director for geosciences. "Biogeochemical cycles don't exist in isolation, however. There is no nitrogen cycle without a carbon cycle, a hydrogen cycle, an oxygen cycle, and even cycles of trace metals such as iron."
Now, with global warming and other planet-wide impacts, biogeochemical cycles are being drastically altered. Like broken gears in machinery that was once finely-tuned, these cycles are falling out of sync.
Knowledge about coupled biogeochemical cycles is "essential to addressing a range of human impacts," said Jon Cole, a biogeochemist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y., and co-organizer of the CBC symposium at ESA.
"It will shed light on questions such as the success of wetland restoration and the status of aquatic food webs. The special CBC conference sessions at ESA will explore future research needs in environmental chemistry, with a focus on how global climate change may impact various habitats."
Earth's habitats have different chemical compositions. Oceans are wet and salty; forest soils are rich in organic forms of nitrogen and carbon that retain moisture.
The atmosphere has a fairly constant chemical composition--roughly 79 percent nitrogen, 20 percent oxygen, and a 1 percent mix of other gases like water, carbon dioxide, and methane.
"Seemingly subtle chemical changes may have large effects," said Cole.
"Consider that global climate change is caused by increases in carbon dioxide and methane, gases which occupy less than ½ of one percent of the atmosphere. Now more than ever, we need a comprehensive view of Earth's biogeochemical cycles."
The study of coupled biogeochemical cycles has direct management applications.
The "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is one example. Nitrogen-based fertilizers make their way from Iowa cornfields to the Mississippi River, where they are transported to the Gulf of Mexico. Once deposited in the Gulf, nitrogen stimulates algal blooms.
When the algae die, their decomposition consumes oxygen, creating an area of water roughly the size of New Jersey that is inhospitable to aquatic life. Protecting the Gulf's fisheries--with an estimated annual value of half-a-billion dollars--relies on understanding how coupled biogeochemical cycles interact.
A better understanding of the relationship between nitrogen and oxygen cycles may help determine how best to use nitrogen fertilizers, for example, to avoid dead zones.
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