Image

Bay Watch

March 4, 2018

WHOI researcher Jennie Rheuban led a study showing that warmer water temperatures are fueling an increase in algae growth in Buzzards Bay, Mass. The study used data compiled over twenty years by Buzzards Bay Coalition volunteers who monitor water quality at sites around the bay. The researchers found that climate change has caused average summertime water temperatures to rise more than 3.5 degrees Fahrenheit. The temperature rise can be too rapid for some marine life to adapt. It also fuels algae growth which can turn clear waters murky, reducing sunlight and oxygen levels in the water and ultimately harming marine life. (Photo Courtesy of Jennie Rheuban, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)