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Chinese race to clear algae from Olympic sailing venue

  2. jefftego
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More than 10,000 workers are battling against time to remove a thick algal bloom that has carpeted the Olympic sailing venue in Qingdao in east China, officials said.

Qingdao Olympic Sailing Committee officials warned that it would take two weeks to clear the growth, which competitors - including members of the British sailing team - say is hampering training in the run-up to the games. It has blocked practice routes and covered almost one-third of the competition area.

A total 5,000 square miles (13,000 square kilometres) is affected, the state news agency Xinhua reported.

A thousand fishing boats have been dredging the area and already 100,000 tonnes of lurid, blue-green algae have been removed. Organisers are also trying to prevent more from spreading into clear waters.

Algal blooms have become an increasingly frequent problem on China's inland lakes because of pollution from industry and farm chemicals.

While the growth in Qingdao is not thought to present a health risk, some blooms produce dangerous toxins which can cause illness and occasionally death if it contaminates seafood.
jefftego

12 responses // Chinese race to clear algae from Olympic sailing venue

  • AHHH.... thats thick....... wait arent those a type of plant?.... they were protecting the environment... nice one olympics..
    kewal91
  • The disturbing matter is that similar cases of hypoxia have occurred here in the U.S. Fertilizer runoff in the Mississippi River has created a Connecticut-sized zone of algal bloom in the Gulf Coast. Regardless, most people are unaware or don't care.
    marboss
  • Turn that algae into biofuel quick!!!
    shroomfairy
  • Interesting that they're just sweeping it all up instead of looking into reducing the problems that cause the algae blooms in the first place.
    Elligirl
    2 responses to this
  • http://current.com/items/88942416_green_ain_t_always_go...
    I posted this a little while back - it explains a little about the algae blooms
    eli_redsnail
  • http://current.com/items/89062876_algae_farm_in_mexico_...
    Use it to make ethanol!
    jay_ct
  • It's been a long time since I've taken environmental science so correct me if I'm wrong about this;

    Algae blooms are caused by an over abundance of carbon dioxide in the water due to pollution, algae blooms are dangerous to the environment due to choking out all other lifeforms resources by blocking sunlight for photosynthesis and choking the water with oxygen.
    something like that. again it's been like 56 years. someone correct me.
    RudyRudell
  • If they don't clean that up I don't foresee any records being made this year other than the coveted "Dirtiest Boat to Take Gold" record.

    Go Team USA!
    BetterWatching
  • I think that if there is an over abundance of carbon dioxide in the water then nothing else is going to be living any ways. Algae is the first in line when it comes to crappy places in the sea to grow. But i do know that well over half of the oxygen in our atmosphere comes from algae, the algae field located off the cost of California accounts for about 10% of that.
    TEC_Photos18
  • It's not carbon dioxide. It's phosphates from soap in sewage and nitrates from agricultural runoff and sewage. These are usually algae's limiting nutrients and so when it has a lot of them it grows a lot. Then, the algae dies off and rots on the bottom and that consumes oxygen and creates dead zones.
    BentFranklin

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