Toxic algae blooms in Lake Erie could come more often and be more intense in coming decades thanks in part totorrential rains intensified by global warming, according to a study published in Monday’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Heavy runoff from farmland, say the authors, can carry nutrient-rich fertilizer into the western part of the lake, triggering a population explosion of blue-green algae that pump poisons while they live and can rob the water of oxygen when they die and decompose.
And according to the study, if farming practices stay the same, the millions of people who depend on Lake Erie for drinking water and recreation — and by extension, those who depend on the other Great Lakes as well — could see water quality degrade significantly.
The biggest lesson, however, has to do with the danger of looking at just one aspect of how climate change might affect a specific part of the world. Increased rainfall alone didn’t cause the 2011 algae bloom, Michalak said, and adapting to climate change will require scientists and policymakers to look beyond just what’s happening to the climate.
“It speaks to the need to look at the environment as a very complex, interrelated system,” Michalak said.
http://www.climatecentral.org/news/climate-change-may-trigger-more-toxic-algae-blooms-in-lake-erie-15812
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