Eutrophication,as we all know, has become a common phenomenon due to large amount of organic waste getting into our natural water reservoirs worldwide. I am keen to know how the problem of eutrophication can be solved. I am keen to know about biological solutions including use of certain micro-organisms (zooplanktons & phytoplanktons) as well as aquatic plants to increase the water Oxygen content.
Till the time organic wastes undergoes degradation,saprotrops will consume Oxygen & release minerals into water body.Hence water columns nearer its bottom will almost have no Oxygen in the initial stages,depending upon Oxygen diffusion from upper layers & from surface.Higher the area of surface,greater is the diffusion.Once the nutrients are released,they will be used by phytoplankton & algae,hence in order to increase DO2 levels,the water body may be infused with varieties of phytoplankton & algal spores so as to increase primary productivity.This process will increase DO2 levels in water body.
Agree with Trivedi, but most waters where the organic waste input are high have naturally higher productivity. I have experience in marine systems and can certainly say that for marine area. In this case the marine water gets the O2 naturally once an event has happened. I dont think an intervention is possible for large water bodies.
Marine waters are never static,as they are always in movement & this movement increases surface diffusion.The problem arises when the waters are lentic.
Thank you C. Trivedi and Saif Uddin for sharing your thoughts. I hope this interactions grows with more positive and fruitful inputs.
You can go for biomanupulation. In which basically you have to study the trophic level. Suppose, if phytoplanktons are more then go for introduction of native organism which may feed on plankton. For DO, either you have to look for artificial aeration or biomanupulation of photosynthetic organisms. Good luck
The primary productivity of the system cannot be out of sync with higher trophic levels. For example, if phytoplankton growth (due to enhanced nutrients) outpaces the grazers of the system (e.g. zooplankton), then there will be an oxygen demand as those phytoplankton die.
Therefore, adding more primary producers is not the right option because it is too many primary producers that have caused the low O2 in the first place.
For an acute problem in a small system (e.g. reservoir) you could physically introduce more O2 into the system (e.g. bubbling).
For larger systems, the nutrient levels must be reduced first, and slowly/over time hypoxia issues should improve.
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