Why Does Red Tide Occur?

During red tide,there is more than the usual amount of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water. With this many nutrients, the culprit of red tide, a type of plankton called dinoflagellates eats the nutrients. Then they explode their population by 1000 times on any normal day, this is called a "bloom". Red tides have been happening since we can remember, but as the future grows, red tide occurrence will also. This is because of all the pollution in the farmer's runoff that ends up in the ocean, and it is usually full of nitrogen and phosphorus.

Here is a photograph of a ocean with red tide

This picture was taken from .http://www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab/rtphotos/rtphotos.html

 

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This is a photograph of red tide up close

This picture was taken from http://www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab/rtphotos/rtphotos.html