Algae Blooms Fed by Farm Flooding Add to Midwest's Climate Woes

June 25, 2019 - Georgina Gustin

The historic rains that flooded millions of acres of Midwestern cropland this spring landed a blow to an already struggling farm economy.

They also delivered bad news for the climate.

Scientists project that all that water has flushed vast amounts of fertilizer and manure into waterways, triggering a potentially unprecedented season of algae blooms. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted that the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico—a massive overgrowth of algae—could become the size of Massachusetts this summer, coming close to a record set in 2017, and that an algae bloom in Lake Erie could also reach a record size. 

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Flooding Could Also Mean Less Fertilizer

The extent of this year's algae blooms depends on the weather. If it's cooler than expected, the blooms might not proliferate as much. The delayed planting could also mean that farmers use less fertilizer this year.

"It depends on how much the rain continues," said Bruno Basso, a professor of ecosystems science at Michigan State University. "Not having things in the ground, that's positive, because farmers won't put fertilizer on the ground."

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