Global mapping reveals increase in lacustrine algal blooms over the past decade

Summary, in English

Algal blooms constitute an emerging threat to global inland water quality, yet their spatial and temporal distribution at the global scale remains largely unknown. Here we establish a global bloom database, using 2.91 million Landsat satellite images from 1982 to 2019 to characterize algal blooms in 248,243 freshwater lakes, representing 57.1% of the global lake area. We show that 21,878 lakes (8.8%) spread across six continents have experienced algal blooms. The median bloom occurrence of affected lakes was 4.6%, but this frequency is increasing; we found increased bloom risks in the 2010s, globally (except for Oceania). The most pronounced increases were found in Asia and Africa, mostly in developing countries that remain reliant on agricultural fertilizer. As algal blooms continue to expand in scale and magnitude, this baseline census will be vital towards future risk assessments and mitigation efforts.

• Author: Xuejiao Hou; Lian Feng; Yanhui Dai; Chuanmin Hu; Luke Gibson; Jing Tang; Zhongping Lee; Ying Wang; Xiaobin Cai; Junguo Liu; Yi Zheng; Chunmiao Zheng
• Department/s: Dept of Physical Geography and Ecosystem Science; MERGE: ModElling the Regional and Global Earth system
• Publishing year: 2022-02-01
• Language: English
• Pages: 130-134
• Publication/Series: Nature Geoscience
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 2
• Links: http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00887-x
• Document type: Journal article
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Topic: Ecology; Oceanography, Hydrology, Water Resources
• Status: Published
• ISBN/ISSN/Other: ISSN: 1752-0894