Microscopic Phytoplankton Can Cause Big Problems for Estuaries

A decade of research has been the basis for finding out how Phytoplankton affects the water quality of coastal ecosystems. Scientists conducted a research regarding the San Francisco Bay in California, which also happens to have the largest red tide since September 2004. According to the US Geological Survey scientists, they’ve been monitoring the phytoplankton, nutrients, chlorophyll, and other water-quality indicators in San Francisco Bay since late 1970s.

The phytoplankton found in ocean caused the red color and is believed to be causing some toxic problem. To know more about this microscopic water organism, you can get same water samples where phytoplankton is present and you can view this in any school microscope.

Research also added that with sufficient numbers of this phytoplankton, the water will be colored red. However based on their experiment with the use of school microscope, some red tides are associated with phytoplankton that produced toxins and phytoplankton photosynthesis drives many chemicals such as; oxygen, carbon dioxide, methane, and also the organic compound like, amino acids, organ sulfur compound.

There are a lot of questions to be answered before this water problem can be solved. In understanding more about phytoplankton, series of experiments must take place and conclusion should be met.