China's Changjiang Estuary Hit with Unexpected Algal Bloom, Dinoflagellates Potentially Sourced by Nearby Water Bodies

A study on the Changjiang Estuary and nearby water bodies was recently conducted by a collaborative effort of experts from prestigious institutes in China. Based on the findings they have collected, the region was already infiltrated by the effects of algal blooms. Intense side effects of the natural cause could harm the fishing industry around the area and the ecosystems thriving under the site's waters.

The algal blooms detected from Changjiang Estuary's water systems are gradually damaging the region. Based on the study, 60 percent of the algal blooms recorded in the area were induced by dinoflagellates. The type of foreign algae is not endemic in the area, which led the origin of the microorganisms to baffle the oceanology experts.

Dinoflagellate Bloom in Changjiang Estuary

Institute of Oceanology's CAS Key Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Sciences experts at the Chinese Academy of Sciences led the study on the bizarre phenomena on the estuary. Authored by the institute's oceanographers Baoshu Yin and Rencheng Yu, the study detailed every aspect that connects to the unexpected presence of the non-local dinoflagellates and the potential source that the population originated from.

Collaborators conducted the research immediately as soon as the algal bloom manifested on the estuary and its adjacent water bodies. Results from the investigation could help the nearby areas and water systems, including the Kuroshio Current, Changjiang River, and the Taiwan Warm Current, be safe and secure from the harmful impacts of the bloom.

All of the stated areas are great sources of nutrients for the marine ecosystem present in the Changjiang Estuary, and it is possible that among these places might have produced the overpopulation of the specified algae.

According to a report by PhysOrg, it was found that the Kuroshio Current provides the nearby and interconnected streamlines not just with natural nutrients but with considerable amounts of algal bloom as well. Although sources contribute nutrients, the Taiwan Warm Current is also suspected to be the origin of dinoflagellates scattered across many water bodies.

Mapping of Algal Blooms in New Models of East China Sea

To map out the exact locations of affected regions, the authors developed a physical-biological model based on the entire East China Sea. Then, the experts combined the newly created coupled model with an adjoint model for the first time.

The models were utilized to analyze results from a series of simulations. Based on the data harnessed, the researchers concluded that the dinoflagellates in eastern Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait were non-local and were indeed the source of algal bloom.

Throughout the examination, the authors observed that the biomass of dinoflagellates in the area decreased gradually as the population density located in the Taiwan Strait decreased. However, the algae are still considered as high value, even if the population in eastern Taiwan flattened.

Experts said that due to the presence of dinoflagellates in eastern Taiwan, a massive algal bloom could manifest anytime, regardless of the population density of dinoflagellates in nearby sources. The study was published in the journal Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, titled "Nonlocal Population Sources Triggering Dinoflagellate Blooms in the Changjiang Estuary and Adjacent Seas: A Modeling Study."

Check out more news and information on Ocean in Science Times.