Selection of project

Aquatic ecosystems face three major threats from human activities: (1) Uptake of large
amount of CO2 released to the atmosphere due to anthropogenic activities is lowering water
pH (acidification), which will have negative effects on calcification, metabolism, fertility,
survival and growth of organisms; (2) High nutrient loading (eutrophication) is stimulating
plant/algal growth in both freshwater and coastal marine systems; and (3) A combination of
slower ventilation and greater oxygen demand in subsurface waters is resulting in an
expansion of oxygen minimum zones in the open ocean and appearance of hundreds of
hypoxic sites in coastal areas. These alterations in aquatic biogeochemistry and ecosystems
are expected to have a profound impact on water quality and living resources (biodiversity
and fisheries) besides providing feedback to global change.
Aim or objectives
Importance of project
Nutrient overenrichmentor eutrophicationof freshwater and marine ecosystems is
growing rapidly as a result of human activities. Some of the more obvious signs of
eutrophication include excessive phytoplankton and macroalgae growth, harmful algal
blooms, proliferation of gelatinous organisms, and in the worst cases, the formation of
hypoxic or dead zones. Nutrients reach coastal systems through surface water,
groundwater, and air. The complexity and pervasive nature of nutrient losses means that
reduction strategies need to be comprehensive, addressing multiple sources and pathways.
The drivers of eutrophication are diverse and include complex and interrelated
socioeconomic factors that ultimately lead to increasing levels of nutrient pollution. The
direct drivers of nutrient pollution include energy consumption and fertilizer use which result
in increased nutrients lost to the environment, as well as land-use conversion which
diminishes the capacity of ecosystems to capture and cycle nutrients before they reach
aquatic ecosystems. Indirect drivers of nutrient pollution include demographic shifts,
expansion of intensive agriculture, and economic.
There are numerous outcomes to the ecosystems associated with eutrophication
environments. Most of these are viewed as unfavorable to the biota which have historically
comprised a given habitat. The general types of ecological consequences include: reduction
in biodiversity, die-off of certain organisms, reduction in visibility and mobility functions due
to biotic overgrowth (which effects can interfere with plant metabolism and with aquatic
animal transport); reduction in dissolved oxygen and associated fitness reduction in animals
dependent upon oxygen levels. In the case of utter transformation of lakes to bogs and
meadows, the ecological consequences are extreme, and result in replacement of an original
ecosystem with an entirely different one; such progression occurs in the natural world,
although human induced additions of N and P greatly accelerate the progression as
compared to a natural landscape evolution. In such accelerated circumstances, organisms
may not have the time needed to migrate or adapt to the rapidly altered new environment.

Methodology
Eutrophication arises from the oversupply of nutrients, which induces explosive growth of
plants and algae which, when such organisms die, they consume the oxygen in the body of
water, thereby creating the state of hypoxia.
The availability of phosphorus generally promotes excessive plant growth and decay,
favouring simple algae and plankton over other more complicated plants, and causes a
severe reduction in water quality. Phosphorus is a necessary nutrient for plants to live, and
is the limiting factor for plant growth in many freshwater ecosystems. Phosphate adheres
tightly to soil, so it is mainly transported by erosion. Once translocated to lakes, the
extraction of phosphate into water is slow, hence the difficulty of reversing the effects of
eutrophication.
The source of this excess phosphate are detergents, industrial/domestic run-off, and
fertilizers. With the phasing out of phosphate-containing detergents in the 1970s,
industrial/domestic run-off and agriculture have emerged as the dominant contributors to
eutrophication.
When algae die, they decompose and the nutrients contained in that organic matter are
converted into inorganic form by microorganisms. This decomposition process consumes
oxygen, which reduces the concentration of dissolved oxygen. The depleted oxygen levels in
turn may lead to fish kills and a range of other effects reducing biodiversity. Nutrients may
become concentrated in an anoxic zone and may only be made available again during
autumn turn-over or in conditions of turbulent flow.
Enhanced growth of aquatic vegetation or phytoplankton and algal blooms disrupts normal
functioning of the ecosystem, causing a variety of problems such as a lack of oxygen
needed for fish and shellfish to survive. The water becomes cloudy, typically coloured a
shade of green, yellow, brown, or red. Eutrophication also decreases the value of rivers,
lakes and aesthetic enjoyment. Health problems can occur where eutrophic conditions
interfere with drinking water treatment.[4]
Human activities can accelerate the rate at which nutrients enter ecosystems. Runoff from
agriculture and development, pollution from septic systems and sewers, sewage sludge
spreading, and other human-related activities increase the flow of both inorganic nutrients
and organic substances into ecosystems. Elevated levels of atmospheric compounds of
nitrogen can increase nitrogen availability. Phosphorus is often regarded as the main culprit
in cases of eutrophication in lakes subjected to "point source" pollution from sewage pipes.
The concentration of algae and the trophic state of lakes correspond well to phosphorus
levels in water.
Observation
It is reported that the average rainfall at Powai Lake is about 2,540 millimetres (100 in),
and the lake overflows for about for sixty days each year. The overflow from the lake flows
into the Mithi River. Silt studies conducted in 1995 estimates that 4500 lakh cubic metres of

silt has been deposited in the lake since its construction.[2] It supplied two million gallons of
water to Bombay (now Mumbai) when it was built. Following the construction of the Tansa
dam and creation of the reservoir, in 1892, Powai waters were used for irrigation. [8] The lake
drains a catchment of 6.61 km2 (part of the Powai-Kanheri hill ranges which also drain into
the adjoining Vihar Lake and Tulsi Lake). The dam, built in stone masonry has a height
varying from 3 m to 6m with top level of the dam kept at E.L. 58.5 m (with Town hall
datum).[9] Government of Maharashtra reports that due to eutrophication of the lake water
from untreated sewage and garbage from nearby residential and slum colonies, the lake
water is unfit for drinking water use. Hence, the lake is now used for recreation, gardening,
cattle washing and fishing.
Analysis
Protection of marine waters from the harmful consequences of nutrient enrichment is a
challenge to resource managers because the sources and delivery routes of N and P are
diverse. Combustion of fossil fuels produces gaseous nitrogen oxides, and animal production
and fertilizer use produce volatile ammonia, two sources of atmospheric N that can be
carried by winds and deposited on coastal waters and lakes hundreds of kilometers from
their origin. Modern high-yield agriculture, golf courses, parks and urban gardeners
presently use commercial fertilizers in large quantities -- substances that became cheap to
produce in the mid 20th century the era in which N and P concentrations began to
increase in surface waters carrying agricultural and urban runoff to the sea. The world's
human population is growing disproportionately in the coastal zone, creating an additional
challenge of reducing nutrient inputs from municipal waste, septic systems, and fertilizer
runoff from lawns and gardens. Projections indicate that the largest future increases in N
and P delivery to the coastal ocean will occur in eastern and southern Asia where
populations and economies are growing most rapidly.
Results
The eutrophication problem illustrates how human activities on land can degrade the quality
of coastal waters and habitats, with potentially large economic and ecological costs.
Solutions to the coastal eutrophication problem require changes in all these activities within
the watersheds and airsheds connected to coastal waters. Proposed solutions to the
eutrophication problem are multidimensional and include actions to restore wetlands and
riparian buffer zones between farms and surface waters, reduce livestock densities, improve
efficiencies of fertilizer applications, treat urban runoff from streets and storm drains,
reduce N emissions from vehicles and power plants, and further increase the efficiency of N
and P removal from municipal wastewater. As coastal fish and shellfish aquaculture expand,
management considerations of this rapidly growing internal source of nutrients will be
required as well.
Bibliography
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutrophication
http://www.nio.org/index/option/com_projectdisplay/task/view/tid/2/sid/15/pid/66

http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152690/
http://pdf.wri.org/eutrophication_policies_actions_and_strategies.pdf