Marine Science Faculty Publications
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-19-2010
Keywords
algal bloom, remote sensing, numerical modeling
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JC005561
Abstract
A massive bloom of the green macroalgae Ulva prolifera (previously known as Enteromorpha prolifera) occurred in June 2008 in the Yellow Sea (YS), resulting in perhaps the largest “green tide” event in history. Using a novel index (Floating Algae Index) and multiresolution remote sensing data from MODIS and Landsat, we show that U. prolifera patches appeared nearly every year between April and July 2000–2009 in the YS and/or East China Sea (ECS), which all originated from the nearshore Subei Bank. A finite volume numerical circulation model, driven by realistic forcing and boundary conditions, confirmed this finding. Analysis of meteorological/environmental data and information related to local aquaculture activities strongly supports the hypothesis that the recurrent U. prolifera in the YS and ECS resulted from aquaculture of the seaweed Porphyra yezoensis (or nori) conducted along the 200 km shoreline of the Subei Bank north of the Changjiang (Yangtze) River mouth. Given the continuous growth in aquaculture efforts in the region, similar macroalgae bloom events, such as the summer 2008 event, are likely to occur in the future, particularly between May and July. This was confirmed by the 2009 bloom event in the same regions and the same period. The profit of the local P. yezoensis aquaculture industry (∼16,000 Ha in 2007) is estimated as U.S. $53 million, yet the cost to manage the impact of the summer 2008 U. prolifera bloom exceeded U.S. $100 million. Therefore, better strategies are required to balance the economic benefit of seaweed aquaculture and the costs of environmental impacts.
Rights Information
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans, v. 115, issue C5, art. C05017
Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.
Scholar Commons Citation
Hu, Chuanmin; Li, Daqiu; Chen, Changsheng; Ge, Jianzhong; Muller-Karger, Frank E.; Liu, Junpeng; Yu, Feng; and He, Ming-Xia, "On the Recurrent Ulva prolifera Blooms in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea" (2010). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 58.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/58
