Umgeni River Red Tide explained by Professor Anthony Turton

Umgeni River Red Tide explained by Professor Anthony Turton

Umgeni River Red Tide explained by Professor Anthony Turton: In the accompanying video, Professor Anthony Turton explains the recent Umgeni River Red Tide.

Umgeni River Red Tide

Thank you Tony! Firstly, I never even knew that red tides could occur in a river. But when the flow stops and the sewage just keeps pouring in, we have ideal conditions for Karenia Brevis. Our local algae family.

Certain algae species, like the dinoflagellate Karenia Brevis, colour the ocean a deep red, inspiring the name “red tide.” In ideal conditions – like a well-polluted river system as the Umgeni is – these guys flourish. They are able to reproduce on their own. So when the time is right, man do they party.

Once they have consumed every bit of available oxygen from the water, the water becomes eutrophic. The algae die and sink to the bottom. The water turns from red, to black.

This is the cesspit. The sump of humanity. Everything evil ends up here. Anti-retrovirals. Oestrogen. Any drugs people have been taking. In this potent mix, is where toxins thrive. These toxins are what lead to cholera. And staph infections. And death to livestock. Or anyone who consumes it. Or even comes into close contact with the lethal water. Including the fish. Crabs. And any other cool animals like otters and seabirds.

With all these foreign substances now included in the eutrophic toxic mix, the pathogens and other evils therein start to become immune to the exact treatments meant to deal with them.

Super-pathogens!

Bio-luminescence

Secondly, as aesthetically beautiful as nighttime bio-luminescence can be, it is also a sure sign of an algal bloom. And the more luminous, the worse it can be. Very bad for skinny dippers. Who might itch and even be short of breath when splashing around in an algal bloom.

Thank you Professor Turton for taking the time to explain this politically induced phenomenon to us.

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