Plankton Crash

• 13 Apr 2024

Source: TH

Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) panel has attributed the cause of the sea turning red in Puducherry to the phenomenon of the plankton crash.

• Ruling out algal bloom and contamination due to effluents, the NGT panel suggested
• that there was a high iron concentration, which favoured plankton bloom.
• A significant portion of a specific unicellular phytoplankton species, Noctiluca scintillans, was responsible for the discharge of red pigment into the water.
• The environmental parameters such as sea surface temperature, water salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen were conducive to the phytoplankton crash.

Algal Bloom:

• An algal bloom can be defined as a rapid increase in the population of algae in an aquatic ecosystem.
• It is usually recognised by the discolouration on the surface of the water due to the introduction of a nutrient (such as nitrogen or phosphorus) into an aquatic ecosystem.

Read More: Harmful Algal Bloom, National Green Tribunal (NGT)