By - Snigdha Nair
Recently, due to human activities, there has been an increase in the disposition of Nitrogen and Phosphorus leading to the issue of eutrophication.
It is known as the excessive algal growth and plant in aquatic ecosystems. In some cases, the increase in these limiting nutrients are done intentionally in order to increase the biomass of “important” fishes. However, the unintentional release of these nutrients are from industrial work, fossil fuels, sewage disposal and more. Eutrophication has led to a variety of negative consequences, such as the production of blue-green algae, hypoxia, tainted drinking water, reduction in biodiversity, etc..
Some may argue that an increase in plant growth is good, however these high rates of photosynthesis that comes from eutrophication can lead to dissolved inorganic carbon and a high pH level. Furthermore, how can eutrophication cause hypoxia? The high pH results in the death of algal blooms and the processes of decomposition consumes the dissolved oxygen; consequently, there is the creation of a hypoxic “dead zone” - where there is insufficient oxygen to support aquatic organisms. Hence, eutrophication is a widespread threat to all living organisms and the ecosystem.
Currently, there are a few curative procedures that can help solve the problem of eutrophication however they are not always easy to implement, making it a tedious job. Some solutions include:
● Draining the first 10-20cm of sediments which are subject to biological reactions
● Oxygenation of water for reducing the negative effects of the eutrophic process
● Chemical precipitation of phosphorus by adding iron or aluminum salts or calcium carbonate to the water. This reduces the negative effects of eutrophication.
Even though these solutions would help reduce the negative impacts of eutrophication, they can only be used for small bodies of water. Moreover, using these solutions on a larger scale can prove to be very complex which is why they are not being undertaken often. While we understand that this issue is going to be hard to tackle with just a proposed prototype, it is a neglected issue that is long overdue for an attempt of constant solution.
One of the major reasons that eutrophication is such a huge problem is the lack of awareness. It has massively decreased marine life yet 9 out of 10 people aren’t aware of the issue. Why must the aquatic population suffer due to human impact?
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