Some types of algal blooms produce dangerous toxins, while others are relatively harmless to humans.
Water quality
Posted inEditors' Highlights
New Standards Spur Water Utilities to Improve Compliance
Although American water utility companies take time to modify procedures and technologies in response to new quality requirements, ultimately it reduces the rate at which they violate standards.
Posted inNews
New Contamination Concern for Colorado Streams
Abandoned hardrock mines and climate change cause metals and other elements to leach into streams. They also put rare earth elements into the water, a new study finds.
Posted inFeatures
Jennifer Arrigo: Seeking Clean Water for Everyone
Science forges a partnership between academia and federal agencies.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Big Benefits from Experimental Watersheds
Scientific insights from the Agricultural Research Service’s long-term study sites underpin dozens of models and research methods that guide global land management and conservation practices.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Earthquakes Can Acidify Groundwater
Fracturing during microearthquakes can cause groundwater pH drops. The change is temporary but can be equivalent to the difference between water and vinegar.
Posted inNews
Agricultura Sustentable Reflejada en Calidad del Agua de Cuba
Las muestras de agua de 25 ríos en el centro de Cuba están dominadas por signos de erosión de las rocas en lugar de la escorrentía de fertilizantes, según muestran investigadores que trabajan en instituciones cubanas y estadounidenses.
Posted inFeatures
An Unfought Geoscience Battle in U.S. Prisons
Prisoners, activists, and lawyers are fighting to protect incarcerated people from pollution and the dangers of climate change. There’s a place for geoscientists in the fight too.
Posted inNews
Biggest Risk to Surface Water After a Wildfire? It’s Complicated
Whether you’re considering short-term or long-term changes to water quality after a wildfire, scientists agree that sedimentation is a big concern.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Tracking Trace Elements in the Ganga River
Levels of dissolved trace and heavy metals, which can be toxic, are highly variable across the river basin, concentrating in urban areas with high pollution but diluted by inflow from tributaries.