What is eutrophication?

What is eutrophication?

• A. A method of water purification
• B. Eutrophication is a process where excess nutrients cause algal blooms that lead to oxygen depletion and aquatic life death
• C. A form of water filtration
• D. A measure of water hardness

Answer: (B)

Eutrophication is the process by which excess nutrients—usually nitrogen and phosphorus—enter a water body and spur rapid growth of algae and other aquatic plants. When these blooms die, they are decomposed by bacteria, which consumes large amounts of dissolved oxygen, leading to low oxygen conditions that stress or kill fish and other aquatic life. This nutrient-driven surge in growth is often accelerated by human activities such as agricultural runoff, sewage discharge, and detergents, though it can occur naturally over longer timescales. The description that best captures eutrophication is a process where excess nutrients cause algal blooms that lead to oxygen depletion and aquatic life death. It is not a method of purification, a form of filtration, or a measure of water hardness.

Eutrophication is the process by which excess nutrients—usually nitrogen and phosphorus—enter a water body and spur rapid growth of algae and other aquatic plants. When these blooms die, they are decomposed by bacteria, which consumes large amounts of dissolved oxygen, leading to low oxygen conditions that stress or kill fish and other aquatic life. This nutrient-driven surge in growth is often accelerated by human activities such as agricultural runoff, sewage discharge, and detergents, though it can occur naturally over longer timescales. The description that best captures eutrophication is a process where excess nutrients cause algal blooms that lead to oxygen depletion and aquatic life death. It is not a method of purification, a form of filtration, or a measure of water hardness.