 Olympics
Red Tide Horrors
Yellow Sea turns to
pea (soup that is). The
Olympics red tide
could not have come
at a worse time.
With less than six
weeks before it
plays host to the
Olympic sailing
regatta, the city of
Qingdao has
mobilized thousands
of people and an
armada of small
boats to clean up an
algae bloom that is
choking large
stretches of the
coastline and
threatening to
impede the Olympic
competition,
the International
Herald Tribune
reported on Monday.
20,000 people have
either volunteered
or.....more
likely.....been
forced to scoop up
the green algae in
order to rid the red
tide in time for the
2008 Summer Olympics.
"We will make all
our efforts to
finish this job,"
said a propaganda
official in Qingdao.
"Now, forces from
the entire province
have become
involved." He said
ships and boats had
been sent from two
other coastal
cities, Rizhao and
Yantai, to help haul
away the algae.
Yuan Zhiping, an
official with the
Qingdao Olympic
Sailing Committee,
said Sunday that the
government would
attempt to block
algae from floating
into the Olympic
sailing area by
installing a fenced
perimeter in the sea
that is more than 50
kilometers, or 30
miles, long.
"I believe we will
make sure the
Olympics sailing
area is clean by
July 15 through our
efforts, and make
sure the Olympics
sailing goes
smoothly," Yuan
said, according to
the Shandong News
Web site.
"Red tide" is a
common name for a
phenomenon known as
an algal bloom, an
event in which
estuarine, marine,
or fresh water algae
accumulate rapidly
in the water column,
or "bloom". These
algae, more
specifically
phytoplankton, are
microscopic,
single-celled
protists, plant-like
organisms that can
form dense, visible
patches near the
water's surface.
Certain species of
phytoplankton
contain
photosynthetic
pigments that vary
in color from green
to brown to red, and
when the algae are
present in high
concentrations, the
water appears to be
discolored or murky,
varying in color
from purple to
almost pink,
normally being red
or green.
"Red tide" is a
colloquial term used
to refer to a
natural phenomenon
known as a "harmful
algal bloom" or "HAB."
Since 1) a wide
variety of algal
species can cause a
red tide, 2) red
tides are not
necessarily red, and
many have no
discoloration at
all, 3) are
unrelated to
movements of the
tides, and 4) a wide
variety of algal
species are known
bloom-formers, the
term "red tide" is
being phased out
among researchers in
favor of the more
appropriate "harmful
algal bloom" for
harmful species, or
simply "algal bloom"
for non-harmful
species.
Causes of "red tide"
are not entirely
known but coastal
water pollution
produced by humans
and systematic
increase in sea
water temperature
have also been
implicated as
contributing factors
in red tides.
Harmful algal blooms
may cause harm
through the
production of toxins
or by their
accumulated biomass,
which can affect
co-occurring
organisms and alter
food-web dynamics.
Impacts include
human illness and
mortality following
consumption of or
indirect exposure to
HAB toxins,
substantial economic
losses to coastal
communities and
commercial
fisheries, and HAB-associated
fish, bird and
mammal mortalities.
To the human eye,
blooms can appear
greenish, brown, and
even reddish- orange
depending upon the
algal species, the
aquatic ecosystem,
and the
concentration of the
organisms.
Photographs in the
Chinese media showed
rickety wooden boats
overflowing with
green mounds of
algae collected from
the sea, according
to the International
Herald Tribune.
One photo showed a
young boy crouched
on a beach beside
piles of the leafy
glop as a dump truck
carried off a large
load of algae. State
media reported that
100,000 tons of the
algae had already
been taken out of
the water. Much of
it was being
transported to farms
as feed for pigs and
other animals,
according to news
reports.
Online gambling
websites were
preparing odds for
the 2008 Olympics
with extensive
betting expected
worldwide.
Bookmaker.com
was offering a
massive 20 percent
signup bonus and
allowed betting in
most currencies
including euro,
pound, US dollar,
Canadian dollar,
etc...
----
Jagajeet Chiba,
Gambling911.com
Originally published
June 30, 2008 6:56
pm EST
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