The Trouble with our Ocean - Runoff
Reefsavior at aol.com
Reefsavior at aol.com
Thu Nov 30 16:43:43 EST 2000
Listers,
With respect to the sudden appearance of algae in the waters adjacent to
coral reefs: I just returned from the Big Island of Hawaii. When I arrived
on Nov. 5 there was an extraordinary bloom of stringy, suspended
greenish-brown algae all down the Kona coast extending at least a mile out to
sea. Local divers said they had never seen such conditions. Apart from the
macroalgae, the water was fairly clear but occasionally seemed to have high
concentrations of plankton at certain times of day. Shortly before my
arrival, record rainfall caused heavy flooding in Hilo, washed out roads and
produced unusual amounts of runoff on the Kona coast, especially where new
construction is occurring. Has anyone seen such a bloom here before? Could
it be due to the introduction of a large amount of terrigenous nutrients
washed into the ocean from the intense rains?
One of the possible side effects of this phenomenon was the appearance of a
whale shark south of Kailua-Kona a mile or two out to sea. I was able to
swim with it and capture some video-tape, a rare pleasure which even some
locals have never had.
Stosh Thompson
Tropical Marine Biodiversity Trust
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