Over the years, climate change has affected almost all of the planet, even the uninhabited Antarctica! One issue from climate change is EUTROPHICATION. Eutrophication is a bio-chemical process which happens in water bodies like wastelands, lakes, wetlands, etc. This process is initiated when fertilizers are left untreated in to water bodies. The phosphates
in the fertilizers help in the growth of algae and bacteria. As they grow, Algae start forming layers on the surface of the body, and being autotrophs, start making their food using sunlight.
Now, you may be asking what's wrong with this? They are making their own food! Actually, that’s where the problem lies, the algae make their food using the sunlight, but that sunlight is unable to reach below the algae (They are on the surface!). This means that underwater plants won’t be able to make their food, which means, they will not be able to sustain themselves! Thus, the aquatic plants die!
The problem doesn’t end here! Since the underwater plants are now gone, this means that even aquatic animals won’t be able to survive as herbivorous fishes will vanish too. If they vanish, carnivorous fishes will start vanishing too. If by chance, they don’t vanish, then there’s another threat too which is waiting for them!
Remember the bacteria, which was mentioned above? The bacteria consume the algae, which should be good news right? No, actually, as the algae start growing rapidly, a large biomass of dead algae starts increasing too, which sinks to the bottom of the water and is consumed by the bacteria, which consume oxygen in the process! Now, this means that those fishes and plants, are now even deprived of oxygen.
So, now there are two problems: growth of algae which is proportional to the growth of Bacteria which is then proportional to loss of sunlight and oxygen, respectively. Hence, it is advised to YOU, yes YOU, the reader, to take charge and ensure in your community
that this problem be treated ASAP! Otherwise, we could never see life under water.
Source:
https://byjus.com/chemistry/eutrophication/
and additions of my own
Divit S
The Carbon Newsprint 6/9/2021
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