A new assessment of the algal biomass of green tide in the Yellow Sea

Chao Yuan; Jie Xiao; Xuelei Zhang; Jian Zhou; Zongling Wang

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113253

A new assessment of the algal biomass of green tide in the Yellow Sea

Mar Pollut Bull. 2022 Jan:174:113253. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113253. Epub 2021 Dec 27.

Authors

Chao Yuan¹, Jie Xiao¹, Xuelei Zhang², Jian Zhou³, Zongling Wang⁴

Affiliations

¹ MNR Key Laboratory of Marine Eco-Environmental Science and Technology, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao 266061, China; Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266237, China.
² MNR Key Laboratory of Marine Eco-Environmental Science and Technology, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao 266061, China; Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266237, China; National Engineering Laboratory for Integrated Aero-Space-Ground-Ocean Big Data Application Technology, Xi'an 710129, China. Electronic address: zhangxl@fio.org.cn.
³ Shandong Marine Forecast and Hazard Mitigation Service, Qingdao 266104, China.
⁴ MNR Key Laboratory of Marine Eco-Environmental Science and Technology, First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, Qingdao 266061, China; Laboratory of Marine Ecology and Environmental Science, Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (Qingdao), Qingdao 266237, China. Electronic address: wangzl@fio.org.cn.

PMID: 34968829
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.113253

Abstract

The annually recurring Yellow Sea green tide causes significant economic, social, and ecological impacts in China. Currently, the magnitude of Yellow Sea green tide is usually evaluated according to the snap shot maximum algal coverage area or artificially removed algal biomass. However, this method ignores growth of the alga Ulva prolifera and thus needs improvement. We build a model to predict algal growth in drifting from upstream and the potential muaximum biomass of green tide. The results suggest that the potential maximum biomass is significantly higher than those estimated merely from maximum algal coverage area, particularly for years with extended period of algal loading in the upstream. Our method improves the evaluation of the magnitude of green tide and provides a scientific basis for developing effective countermeasures to reduce the persistent disaster.

Keywords: Biomass; Bloom mitigation; Green tide; Growth; Source control; Ulva prolifera; Upstream removal; Yellow Sea.

MeSH terms

Biomass
China
Eutrophication*
Ulva*