Beautiful Pollution ?

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Come on in.....the water's lovely !

Spectacular images of an ocean glowing a majestic shade of blue… but it's really a sign of devastating pollution

• The phenomenon was captured this week on the shores of Dalian City in east China
• An eerie blue glow in the water results from a harmful algal bloom called Noctiluca scintillans
• The organism is triggered by farming pollution and it poses a grave threat to local marine life
• Scientists warn the algal bloom is a growing problem which is devastating to local fisheries

The spectacular phenomenon-which has appeared on the shores of Dalian City in east China's Liaoning Province - is known as Sea Sparkle and it comes about from farming triggered contamination.

taken in January these show the algal bloom lighting up on the coast of Hong Kong

Noctiluca is a type of single-cell animal that eats plankton and is eaten by other species. The organisms multiply when nitrogen and phosphorous from farm run-off increase.
The phenomenon has drawn thousands of fascinated sightseers to the coast of Dalian to marvel at its mystical effect. It's the second time that Sea Sparkle has appeared on the coastline of the busy port city.

Tourist Lian Lo, 21, said: 'It looks incredibly beautiful and serene. It makes you want to go out into the water and touch it, but I had no idea it was a sign of pollution.'

'That is very worrying. If it affects local fish, the authorities need to do something about this quickly.'

Images from January this year show the eerie algam bloom lighting up the coast of Hong Kong, with the water seen glowing an otherworldy shade of blue.

Last month images surfaced from Qingdao - also in eastern China - showing the phenomenon appearing on the shore of the small coastal city.

Behind it's breathtaking appearance, Noctiluca scintillans is a growing problem which poses a grave threat to a range of marine life.


Noctiluca scintillans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noctiluca_scintillans


Zeebrugge Belgium

 

[the54thvoid]

Looks like something from Far Cry Blood Dragon. If only it was that cool.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Global warming isn't the only thing to worry about. Overpopulation, pollution, poaching and mining are just a few of mankind's other harms that are leaving the Earth scorched and ruined.

However, the devastating effects of the digital age, demanding food production and melting glaciers are something most people don't see every day.

In order to raise awareness of the issues threatening life as we know it on this planet, the Foundation for Deep Ecology and Population Media Center have released a collection of sobering pictures, showing the widespread destruction of land, skies and seas.

https://populationspeakout.org/photos-stories/

 

[micropage7]

pollution and garbage is side effect of what we have done
one of main problem is plastic, its cheap, easy to find
i guess we have been taking more than nature could supply


and as usual like it said, when the last tree cut, the last water lost we just realize we cant eat money

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Light pollution on Earth at night, as seen from space

These images show the varying levels of light pollution on Earth, as seen from space. Canadian scientist Felix Pharand-Deschênes created the images to highlight our waste of energy

The maps - created using data gathered by satellites - highlight the contrast between first and third world. Egypt's densely populated Nile River valley scorches a path through the darkness of Northern Africa.

Japan, Korea and Eastern China

Australia and Indonesia

Indian subcontinent

South America

North America

Dark Sky locations UK
http://www.darkskydiscovery.org.uk/dark-sky-discovery-sites/map.html

Using Google Earth to find a dark sky
http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2014/05/using-google-earth-find-dark-sky.html

 

[natr0n]

Just like a pool has a filter system.
I'm sure someone can make some kind of lightweight boat with filters that they can maneuver into those messes.

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Cultural eutrophication is a form of water pollution. Cultural eutrophication occurs when excessive fertilizers run into lakes and rivers. This encourages the growth of algae (algal bloom) and other aquatic plants. Following this, overcrowding occurs and plants compete for sunlight, space and oxygen.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eutrophication

Organophosphate and nitrogen fertilisers are often blamed for these inbalances. Algal blooms occur naturally and are an important part of local life cycles.

 

[micropage7]

look at northern africa and australia, it looks pretty peaceful

 

[R-T-B]

look at northern africa and australia, it looks pretty peaceful

It is until the desert or outback eats you alive.

 

[micropage7]

Canadian scientist Felix Pharand-Deschênes created the images to highlight our waste of energy

btw i dont think its wasting since we need it, maybe we need to make it more efficient

It is until the desert or outback eats you alive.

d%mn man!! you bring my day

 

[Nosada]

northern africa looks pretty peaceful

So does North Korea, still wouldn't wanna live there

If anyone cares:

The reason Belgium is so flooded with light is because, more than any other place in the world, EVERY road has lights. Seriously, even the most backwater hicksville unpaved road that is only used to collect harvest from a field has lights every 100 feet or so.

The official reason is that this was done way back when nuclear power plants needed something to dump unused power into at night, because they weren't able to regulate the outputs very well. The real reason, as usual, is corruption.

 

[R-T-B]

Fun fact from my neck of the woods:

We can't swim in the lake only a few miles from our house... Why? Toxic algae blooms. What causes toxic algae? Usually, fertilizer, farm runoff, excrement of some kind, you get the idea...

There's a trailer park right on the border of said lake. It smells rank and looks like a some kind of south american ghetto homeless camp. Do the math.

The human impact is real people. Even if it's just idiots too lazy to run proper plumbing for their RV.

 

[Caring1]

look at northern africa and australia, it looks pretty peaceful

I can see my house

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

Great Pacific Garbage Patch


The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water. 



The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, spans waters from the West Coastof North America to Japan. The patch is actually comprised of the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between the U.S. states of Hawaii and California.

These areas of spinning debris are linked together by the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, located a few hundred kilometers north of Hawaii. This convergence zone is where warm water from the South Pacific meets up with cooler water from the Arctic. The zone acts like a highway that moves debris from one patch to another.

No one knows how much debris makes up the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The North Pacific Subtropical Gyre is too large for scientists to trawl. In addition, not all trash floats on the surface. Denser debris can sink centimeters or even several meters beneath the surface, making the vortex’s area nearly impossible to measure.

About 80% of the debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from land-based activities in North America and Asia. Trash from the coast of North America takes about six years to reach the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, while trash from Japan and other Asian countries takes about a year.

The remaining 20% of debris in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from boaters, offshore oil rigs, and large cargo ships that dump or lose debris directly into the water. The majority of this debris—about 705,000 tons—is fishing nets. More unusual items, such as computer monitors and LEGOs, come from droppedshipping containers.

While many different types of trash enter the ocean, plastics make up the majority of marine debris for two reasons. First, plastic’s durability, low cost, andmalleability mean that it’s being used in more and moreconsumer and industrial products. Second, plastic goods do not biodegrade but instead break down into smaller pieces.

In the ocean, the sun breaks down these plastics into tinier and tinier pieces, a process known asphotodegradation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photodegradation

Scientists have collected up to 750,000 bits of microplastic in a single square kilometer of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch—that’s about 1.9 million bits per square mile. Most of this debris comes from plastic bags, bottle caps, plastic water bottles, and Styrofoam cups.

Spoiler: Animal Lovers DONT CLICK HERE

 

[CAPSLOCKSTUCK]

“Gowanus: Off The Water’s Surface” is a series of photos by Steven Hirsch, of the horribly polluted waters in the Gowanus Canal, in Brooklyn, New York. Hirsch boosts the contrast of the images.

These and similar devices are very effective on still water, i have used them. The "mop" is on a loop, it is squeezed between rollers and the contaminants are removed.