{"id":17358,"date":"2022-12-08T14:49:59","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T19:49:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/?page_id=17358"},"modified":"2024-08-13T16:06:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T20:06:35","slug":"from-water-to-air","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/coastwatch\/from-water-to-air\/","title":{"rendered":"From Water to Air"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n


A PHOTO STORY BY MEGAN MAY<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the end of a gravel road, tucked deep into the woods, bald cypress trees dot the shoreline of Bennett\u2019s Mill Pond. Great blue herons wade in the shallows, searching for their next meal. It\u2019s July in North Carolina, and time on the water would be the perfect way to enjoy some peace and quiet. But not today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Haley Plaas pulls on a pair of rubber gloves. She lays on the dock and gently reaches her hand in. A mucus-like substance clings to her glove as she pulls back, leaving stringy threads on the water\u2019s surface. While brilliant in color, the network of blue scum across the pond is dangerous cyanobacteria, a type of harmful algae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Haley Plaas\u2019s lab experiments at UNC explore how harmful algal blooms emit cells and chemical compounds that travel as tiny atmospheric particles — “aerosols.\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes confused with aquatic plants like duckweed, cyanobacteria can vary from looking like green or blue-green opaque, thin mats to translucent paint or dye. Blooms pose a threat to the local environment \u2014 leading to \ufb01sh kills, ecosystem damage, and drinking water contamination. They can also cause illness in humans and death among pets and wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) occur naturally, but human activities increase their frequency and intensity. HABs feed on nutrient runoff \u2014 anything from leaky septic tanks to fertilizers and industrial waste. While the U.S. South has dealt with this for years, it\u2019s a growing global environmental issue exacerbated by climate change. Increased surface temperatures lead to warmer waters, and more extreme storms are followed by periods of drought. That combination is a perfect recipe for the algae \u2014 storms increase nutrient runoff into waterways, and then drought leads to stagnant, warm water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to wind and wave action, HABs can move quickly through an ecosystem. An area can be healthy one instant and then contaminated in just a few hours. Cyanobacteria are the most common type of harmful algal bloom found in freshwater, but can occur in brackish or saltwater as well. Historically an issue in hot climates, harmful algal blooms are now found across the globe and in all 50 states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While cyanobacteria directly impacts water quality, less is known about how it affects air quality. Enter Plaas, a PhD candidate in environmental science and engineering at UNC-Chapel Hill and a North Carolina Sea Grant advisory board member.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch this video from UNC Research about Haley Plaas’s work on harmful algal blooms:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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