{"id":4769,"date":"2015-04-20T08:05:24","date_gmt":"2015-04-20T12:05:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/?p=4769"},"modified":"2024-05-02T15:18:24","modified_gmt":"2024-05-02T19:18:24","slug":"pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/","title":{"rendered":"Pollinated? Coastal Waters Run Yellow"},"content":{"rendered":"

By SARA MIRABILIO<\/h3>\n

Posted April 20, 2015<\/em><\/p>\n

Pollen levels are peaking in North Carolina. The yellow coating of pollen is on everything \u2014 houses, cars, roads and even sinus cavities. Though unwelcome, at least it is a harbinger of spring\u2019s arrival across North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Spring, to me on the northern Outer Banks, means an end to cabin fever, and a start to good fishing and countless other activities warmer weather brings.<\/p>\n

Thus, my mind turns to fishing when April showers curtail outdoor activity. On those days, the rain gives rise to runoff ditches flowing with bright yellow water from the pollen washing away.<\/p>\n

\"Pollen

Pollen pools on a driveway on a rainy spring day. Photo by Sara Mirabilio<\/p><\/div>\n

Strangely, the runoff also makes me think of fishing. Charter boat captains share accounts of \u201cmarine pollen\u201d or \u201csulphur\u201d when describing an occurrence of yellow coastal waters.<\/p>\n

Like Dorothy following the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City, many fishing captains follow this yellow, watery path in search of sport fish \u2014 billfish, tuna and other coastal pelagic fish. Yet, the cause of these yellow-hued coastal waters is neither pollen nor sulphur, as it is commonly called. It\u2019s sawdust, but not the kind swept away from under your workbench.<\/p>\n

After an offshore fishing trip last August in which I gazed on the yellow swath of water that went on for as far as my eye could see, I became intrigued by what really caused this phenomenon. A NOAA scientist who studies algal blooms<\/a> said that I could be describing a bloom of Trichodesmium<\/em>,<\/em> called commonly sea sawdust.<\/p>\n

This marine cyanobacterium \u2014 also known as blue-green marine alga \u2014 is found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters, and blooms seasonally off the North Carolina coast. Researchers have not documented any negative effects of Trichodesmium<\/em> on marine life or people.<\/p>\n

\"Yellow

A bloom of Trichodesmium erythraeum<\/em> in the southwest Pacific Ocean, as viewed from the deck of the research vessel Alis<\/em>. Photo courtesy NASA.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bryan Fluech, my colleague at Florida Sea Grant, has written about these algal blooms<\/a>. He explains that between May and September, which is the peak time of dust-storm activity in the African Sahara Desert, winds transport iron-rich dust across the Atlantic Ocean to the U.S.<\/p>\n

The Trichodesmium<\/em> growth rate is limited by iron, so a large pulse of iron can lead to an increased growth rate and a production of large colonies visible to the naked eye, called blooms. Blooms generally occur offshore in nutrient-poor waters, but currents and winds occasionally can push them near shore.<\/p>\n

Reports of Trichodesmium<\/em> blooms date back to the 1700s, when Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy wrote<\/a> about brown scum that made him think he was on a shoal. The algae colonies can be quite large \u2014 up to 0.4 inches \u2014 and look like sawdust floating on the water surface.<\/p>\n

Trichodesmium<\/em> blooms can take on a range of colors, depending on the life stage of the bloom. Healthy blooms typically are brown in color. But once the algae begin to decay, the bloom takes on a yellow-green appearance as pigments leach out and expose the algae’s green pigment, called chlorophyll.<\/p>\n

In general, Trichodesmium<\/em> is not a good food source for marine organisms. Only a few animals actively feed on it. So, following the water path may not lead to the \u201choney hole\u201d of fish as thought.<\/p>\n

Do you have another theory as to what causes this yellow water? Feel free to email me with your idea at saram@csi.northcarolina.edu<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Happy Fishing! Now, please pass the tissues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sara Mirabilio goes in search of the source of yellow ocean water. Perhaps it is Trichodesmium erythraeum<\/i>, a marine cyanobacterium found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. The blue-green algae blooms seasonally off the North Carolina coast. Charter boat captains regularly share accounts of \u201cmarine pollen\u201d or \u201csulphur\u201d when describing an occurrence of yellow coastal waters, which likely are spottings of Trichodesmium<\/i> blooms. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[690,8,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4769","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-currents","category-fisheries","category-healthy-coastal-watersheds"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nPollinated? Coastal Waters Run Yellow - Coastwatch Currents<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pollinated? Coastal Waters Run Yellow - Coastwatch Currents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sara Mirabilio goes in search of the source of yellow ocean water. Perhaps it is Trichodesmium erythraeum, a marine cyanobacterium found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. The blue-green algae blooms seasonally off the North Carolina coast. Charter boat captains regularly share accounts of \u201cmarine pollen\u201d or \u201csulphur\u201d when describing an occurrence of yellow coastal waters, which likely are spottings of Trichodesmium blooms.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Coastwatch Currents\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-04-20T12:05:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-05-02T19:18:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sara Mirabilio\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sara Mirabilio\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/\",\"name\":\"Pollinated? Coastal Waters Run Yellow - Coastwatch Currents\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-04-20T12:05:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-05-02T19:18:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#\/schema\/person\/96fe88b623881a6d5db895fc38d9bc60\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Pollinated? Coastal Waters Run Yellow\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/\",\"name\":\"Coastwatch Currents\",\"description\":\"North Carolina Sea Grant's blog\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#\/schema\/person\/96fe88b623881a6d5db895fc38d9bc60\",\"name\":\"Sara Mirabilio\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/332002daf4c28632a80447ee4847a522?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/332002daf4c28632a80447ee4847a522?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Sara Mirabilio\"},\"description\":\"In her role as a fisheries extension specialist, Mirabilio facilitates involvement of commercial and recreational fishing communities in shaping marine fisheries management policies. Her ongoing work also includes cultivating cooperative research with the commercial and recreational fishing industries. Mirabilio is trained in natural resource collaborative processes, and frequently facilitates information exchanges that result in greater trust among user groups and in use of both scientific and traditional ecological knowledge in fishery policy development. She also holds a master\u2019s in marine science from the College of William and Mary's School of Marine Science at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and a bachelor\u2019s in marine science with honors and summa cum laude from Long Island University\u2019s Southampton College.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/author\/saram\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pollinated? Coastal Waters Run Yellow - Coastwatch Currents","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pollinated? Coastal Waters Run Yellow - Coastwatch Currents","og_description":"Sara Mirabilio goes in search of the source of yellow ocean water. Perhaps it is Trichodesmium erythraeum, a marine cyanobacterium found worldwide in tropical and subtropical waters. The blue-green algae blooms seasonally off the North Carolina coast. Charter boat captains regularly share accounts of \u201cmarine pollen\u201d or \u201csulphur\u201d when describing an occurrence of yellow coastal waters, which likely are spottings of Trichodesmium blooms.","og_url":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/","og_site_name":"Coastwatch Currents","article_published_time":"2015-04-20T12:05:24+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-05-02T19:18:24+00:00","author":"Sara Mirabilio","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Sara Mirabilio","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/","url":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/","name":"Pollinated? Coastal Waters Run Yellow - Coastwatch Currents","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-04-20T12:05:24+00:00","dateModified":"2024-05-02T19:18:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#\/schema\/person\/96fe88b623881a6d5db895fc38d9bc60"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/2015\/04\/pollinated-coastal-waters-run-yellow\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Pollinated? Coastal Waters Run Yellow"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#website","url":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/","name":"Coastwatch Currents","description":"North Carolina Sea Grant's blog","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#\/schema\/person\/96fe88b623881a6d5db895fc38d9bc60","name":"Sara Mirabilio","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/332002daf4c28632a80447ee4847a522?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/332002daf4c28632a80447ee4847a522?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Sara Mirabilio"},"description":"In her role as a fisheries extension specialist, Mirabilio facilitates involvement of commercial and recreational fishing communities in shaping marine fisheries management policies. Her ongoing work also includes cultivating cooperative research with the commercial and recreational fishing industries. Mirabilio is trained in natural resource collaborative processes, and frequently facilitates information exchanges that result in greater trust among user groups and in use of both scientific and traditional ecological knowledge in fishery policy development. She also holds a master\u2019s in marine science from the College of William and Mary's School of Marine Science at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and a bachelor\u2019s in marine science with honors and summa cum laude from Long Island University\u2019s Southampton College.","url":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/author\/saram\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4769"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14162,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4769\/revisions\/14162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ncseagrant.ncsu.edu\/currents\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}