Lack of oxygen. In the context of eutrophication and algal blooms, hypoxia is the result of a process that uses up dissolved oxygen in the water. Algal blooms cause water to become more opaque, thereby reducing light availability to submerged aquatic vegetation, and interfering with beneficial human water uses. When the bloom dies off, algae sink to the bottom and are decomposed by bacteria using up the available oxygen. Hypoxia is particularly severe in the late summer, and can be so severe in some areas that they are referred to as “dead zones” because only bacteria can survive there.
References
- UN Environment (2019). Global Environment Outlook – GEO-6 : Healthy Planet, Healthy People. Nairobi. DOI 10.1017/9781108627146.
GEO-1-6
Lack of oxygen. In the context of eutrophication and algal blooms, hypoxia is the result of a process that uses up dissolved oxygen in the water. Algal blooms cause water to become more opaque, thereby reducing light availability to submerged aquatic vegetation, and interfering with beneficial human water uses. When the bloom dies off, algae sink to the bottom and are decomposed by bacteria using up the available oxygen. Hypoxia is particularly severe in the late summer, and can be so severe in some areas that they are referred to as “dead zones” because only bacteria can survive there.