Current:Home > BackAlgae Blooms Fed by Farm Flooding Add to Midwest’s Climate Woes-LoTradeCoin
Algae Blooms Fed by Farm Flooding Add to Midwest’s Climate Woes
View Date:2024-12-23 23:00:05
The historic rains that flooded millions of acres of Midwestern cropland this spring landed a blow to an already struggling farm economy.
They also delivered bad news for the climate.
Scientists project that all that water has flushed vast amounts of fertilizer and manure into waterways, triggering a potentially unprecedented season of algae blooms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted that the “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico—a massive overgrowth of algae—could become the size of Massachusetts this summer, coming close to a record set in 2017, and that an algae bloom in Lake Erie could also reach a record size.
“Every place in the Midwest is wet,” said John Downing, an aquatic ecologist and director of the Minnesota Sea Grant. “There will be a terrific amount of algae blooms.”
As rain washes nutrients—mostly fertilizers and manure—into streams, rivers and lakes, those nutrients stoke the growth of algae, a process known as eutrophication that depletes oxygen in the water. That algae can choke the waterways, killing aquatic life and making water unsafe to swim in or drink.
These algae-filled waterways also emit methane, a powerful climate pollutant. Atmospheric methane has shot up over the past 12 years, threatening global emissions-reduction goals. Downing and his colleagues have determined that algae blooms could accelerate methane emissions even more.
“We not only lose good water,” he said, “we also exacerbate climate change.”
Rising Methane Emissions: ‘The Rates Are Huge’
In a paper published earlier this year, Downing and his colleagues projected that, as the global population grows and more nutrients enter waterways over the next century, eutrophication could increase methane emissions from inland waters by 30 to 90 percent.
“We’ve projected out, based on population growth and food production, how much we can expect eutrophication to impact the climate,” Downing said. “The rates are huge.”
Predictions for increasingly heavy rains in the Midwest in coming decades, along with increased heat, could further drive algae blooms.
“Large rains are causing a lot more run-off, and with climate change, we’re having hotter temperatures,” said Anne Schechinger, an analyst for the Environmental Working Group. “You have these big rain events, and then heat mixes with these nutrients and makes them explode in all these water bodies.”
The group launched a map last year that tracks media reports of algae blooms. So far this year, Schechinger noted, it has tracked at least 30 algae blooms through the beginning of June, including some that never went away over the winter when they usually subside with cooler temperatures.
Flooding Could Also Mean Less Fertilizer
The extent of this year’s algae blooms depends on the weather. If it’s cooler than expected, the blooms might not proliferate as much. The delayed planting could also mean that farmers use less fertilizer this year.
“It depends on how much the rain continues,” said Bruno Basso, a professor of ecosystems science at Michigan State University. “Not having things in the ground, that’s positive, because farmers won’t put fertilizer on the ground.”
Fertilizer, however, is not the only problem. Environmental groups blame the rise of algae blooms in certain regions, particularly around Lake Erie, on the proliferation of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs).
“We found this huge explosion of animal operations since the mid-1990s,” Schechinger said. “We think manure is the most important element of what’s contributing to algae in a lot of these places.”
veryGood! (9454)
Related
- How Jersey Shore's Sammi Sweetheart Giancola's Fiancé Justin May Supports Her on IVF Journey
- Phoenix using ice immersion to treat heat stroke victims as Southwest bakes in triple digits
- Pat McAfee's apology to Caitlin Clark was lame. ESPN has to take drastic action now.
- Caitlin Clark, WNBA rookies have chance to 'set this league on fire,' Billie Jean King says
- Gavin Rossdale Makes Rare Public Appearance With Girlfriend Xhoana Xheneti
- A shot in the arm that can help fight cancer? How vaccine trials are showing promise.
- Why Grey's Anatomy Actress Jessica Capshaw Didn't Initially Like Costar Camilla Luddington
- Kids' YouTuber Ms. Rachel Responds to Backlash After Celebrating Pride Month
- Tennessee fugitive accused of killing a man and lying about a bear chase is caught in South Carolina
- Women’s College World Series final: What to know, how to watch Oklahoma vs. Texas
Ranking
- Bridgerton's Luke Newton Details His Physical Transformation for Season 3's Leading Role
- Andy Cohen Addresses RHONJ Cast Reboot Rumors Amid Canceled Season 14 Reunion
- Connecticut’s top public defender fired for misconduct alleged by oversight commission
- First-in-the-Nation Geothermal Heating and Cooling System Comes to Massachusetts
- Louisiana House greenlights Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax cuts
- Missouri court changes date of vote on Kansas City police funding to August
- Hunter Biden’s ex-wife, other family members expected to take the stand in his federal gun trial
- Jayda Coleman's walk-off home run completes Oklahoma rally, sends Sooners to WCWS finals
Recommendation
-
Judith Jamison, acclaimed Alvin Ailey American dancer and director, dead at 81
-
Man sentenced to 40 years to life for killing mother after argument over video game volume
-
Novak Djokovic withdraws from French Open due to meniscus tear in his right knee
-
Shania Twain makes herself laugh with onstage mixup: 'Really glad somebody captured this'
-
North Carolina offers schools $1 million to help take students on field trips
-
Watch Live: Attorney general, FBI director face Congress amid rising political and international tensions
-
Walmart settlement deadline approaches: How to join $45 million weighted-grocery lawsuit
-
Lawsuits Targeting Plastic Pollution Pile Up as Frustrated Citizens and States Seek Accountability