I.

WHAT IS EUTROPHICATION
Eutrophication is characterized by excessive plant and algal growth due to the increased availability of
one or more limiting growth factors needed for photosynthesis such as sunlight, carbon dioxide, and nutrient
fertilizers. Eutrophication occurs naturally over centuries as lakes age and are filled in with sediments.
However, human activities have accelerated the rate and extent of eutrophication through both point-
source discharges and non-point loadings of limiting nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, into aquatic
ecosystems (i.e., cultural eutrophication), with dramatic consequences for drinking water sources, fisheries,
and recreational water bodies.

II. HOW DOES EUTROPHICATION WORK?

Eutrophication occurs in 4 simple steps:

1) EXCESS NUTRIENTS: First, farmers apply fertilizer to the soil. Then, excess nutrients run off
from the field into the water.
2) ALGAE BLOOM: Next, the fertilizer rich in nitrate and phosphate spark the overgrowth of algae
in water bodies.
3) OXYGEN DEPLETION: When algae forms, it blocks sunlight from entering water and uses up
oxygen. Eventually, water becomes oxygen-depleted.
4) DEAD ZONES: Finally, water that is completely depleted of oxygen becomes a dead zone and
can no longer support life.

III. WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF EUTROPHICATION?

1) Over-fertilization, Domestic Waste Water and Industrial Waste

Basically, over-fertilization, domestic waste water and industrial waste of water causes algae
to grow on the surface. When fertilizer enters into the water, this becomes food for algae. Because
eutrophication stimulates algae growth, it’s common to see thick green blooms in the water. But the
issue with algae is that it absorbs sunlight preventing it from reaching the bottom.

Especially, blue-green algae or “cyanobacteria” can be harmful to plants and humans. For
example, it can be toxic if consumed. This type of algae is becoming a major environmental issue in
most parts of the world. When algae grow to such an extreme level, it entirely stops light reaching
plants in the water. Eventually, plants that need sunlight cannot photosynthesize and die.

2) Algal blooms and oxygen depletion

As algae begins to form, it blocks

sunlight from entering the bottom of ponds,
lakes and rivers. As more nutrients drain into
the water, eutrophication repeats in a vicious
algal bloom cycle and releases more
nutrients in the water.

When algae receive enough sunlight,

they produce oxygen through photosynthesis
and release it in the water. But without light,
algae stop generating oxygen and consume it
instead. When algae die, bacteria begin to
decompose the remains, using up oxygen for
respiration. Eventually, the decomposition
causes the water to become depleted of
oxygen. Over time, this causes the water to carry less oxygen than before.

It can reach a certain point when fish cannot swim and suffocate to death in the water. Overall,
a eutrophic lake can no longer support life. Finally, water without oxygen is anoxic and over time
becomes a dead zone. When a water body reaches this point, it can no longer support fish and aquatic
life like amphibians.

3) Dead zones are worst-case scenarios

 Dead zones are more concentrated where we have industrialized nations. Especially, industrial
farming practices that contains nitrogen and phosphate or animal waste.In the northern Gulf of Mexico
adjacent to the Mississippi River, this is the largest hypoxic zone in the United States (and the second
largest worldwide).

What the map shows below are dead zones worldwide. You can see areas like the Caspian Sea
completely filled with algal blooms.

Eutrophication disturbs the aquatic life through nitrogen-enriched fertilizer. Over time, this
imbalance can cause aquatic life to start dying and in the worst-case scenario a complete dead zone.

IV. WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF EUTROPHICATION?

 Cultural eutrophication is the creation of dense blooms of noxious, foul-smelling phytoplankton

that reduce water clarity and harm water quality

 Algal blooms limit light penetration, reducing growth and causing die-offs of plants in littoral
zones while also lowering the success of predators that need light to pursue and catch prey.

 High rates of photosynthesis associated with eutrophication can deplete dissolved inorganic
carbon and raise pH to extreme levels during the day. Elevated pH can in turn ‘blind' organisms
that rely on perception of dissolved chemical cues for their survival by impairing their
chemosensory abilities.

 When these dense algal blooms eventually die, microbial decomposition severely depletes
dissolved oxygen, creating a hypoxic or anoxic ‘dead zone' lacking sufficient oxygen to support
most organisms.

 Some algal blooms pose an additional threat because they produce noxious toxins. Over the past
century, harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been linked with (1) degradation of water quality (2)
destruction of economically important fisheries and (3) public health risks such as diarrhea,
memory loss, paralysis and in severe causes death. Within freshwater ecosystems,
cyanobacteria are the most important phytoplankton associated with HABs

Eutrophication can end in disaster for fisheries, tourism and local economies. We rely on clean, healthy
water for aquatic life and animals that count on it in the food chain. In fact, blue-green algae in itself is harmful to
pets and for water consumption. As we reshape the land, a clean water supply becomes a serious threat to people.
 V. HOW CAN WE CONTROL EUTROPHICATION?

Water quality can often be improved by reducing nitrogen and/or phosphorus inputs into
aquatic systems, and there are several well-known examples where bottom-up control of nutrients has
greatly improved water clarity:

1) Biomanipulation the alteration of a food web to restore ecosystem. The basic premise is
that secondary consumers (planktivorous fishes) are removed either through the addition
of tertiary consumers (piscivorous fishes) or harvesting, which allows for the dominance
of large-bodied, generalist grazers (e.g., Daphnia) to control phytoplankton

2) The use of algaecides, such as copper sulfate, is also effective at reducing HABs
temporally. However, algaecides are expensive to apply, do not control the primary cause
of the problem (i.e., abundant resources for primary producers) and pose risks to humans,
livestock, and wildlife.

Control and management of cultural eutrophication is a complex issue and will require the
collective efforts of scientists, policy makers, and citizens to reduce nutrient inputs, to develop
effective, long-term biomanipulation techniques, and to eventually restore aquatic communities.

REFRENCES:
https://www.britannica.com/science/eutrophication
http://www.vliz.be/projects/iseca/en/science-for-all/what-is-eutrophication.html
https://earthhow.com/eutrophication-causes-process-examples/
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/eutrophication.html
https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/eutrophication-causes-consequences-and-controls-in-aquatic-
102364466/
 Baguio Seventh-day Adventist School
“The school that leads to Jesus”
46 Bokawkan Road, Baguio City

CHEMISTRY:
EUTROPHICATION

SUBMITTTED TO:
Dary Fabito
 SUBMITTED BY:
Krizelle Mae Barongan