scholarly journals Action Plan for Monitoring, Mitigation and Management of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Coastal Waters of Oman

Author(s):  
A.Y.A AlKindi ◽  
H.M.H. Al-Ghelani ◽  
S. Amer ◽  
Y.K Al-Akhzami

The Gulf of Oman, an ecologically and economically rich ecosystem, is frequently impacted by occurrences of harmful algal blooms. Recent studies indicate an increase in the number of causative species and harmful impacts. Many red tide incidents in Oman have been found leading to hypoxia. The frequent bloom forming species here are Karenia selliformis, Nitzschia pungens, Prorocentrum arabianum and Trichodesmium erythraeum. We review work carried out in this area, and we propose here a Management Action Plan for not only an effective monitoring system for harmful algal blooms (HABs), but also mitigation of their adverse impacts and rapid response system.   

Author(s):  
Hamed Mohammed Al Gheilani ◽  
Kazumi Matsuoka ◽  
Abdulaziz Yahya AlKindi ◽  
Shehla Amer ◽  
Colin Waring

Red tide, one of the harmful algal blooms (HABs) is a natural ecological phenomenon and often this event is accompanied by severe impacts on coastal resources, local economies, and public health. The occurrence of red tides has become more frequent in Omani waters in recent years. Some of them caused fish kill, damaged fishery resources and mariculture, threatened the marine environment and the osmosis membranes of desalination plants. However, a number of them have been harmless. The most common dinoflagellate Noctiluca scintillans is associated with the red tide events in Omani waters. Toxic species like Karenia selliformis, Prorocentrum arabianum, and Trichodesmium erythraeum have also been reported recently. Although red tides in Oman have been considered a consequence of upwelling in the summer season (May to September), recent phytoplankton outbreaks in Oman are not restricted to summer. Frequent algal blooms have been reported during winter (December to March). HABs may have contributed to hypoxia and/or other negative ecological impacts. 


Author(s):  
Saud S. Al Busaidi ◽  
Khalfan M. Al Rashdi ◽  
Hamed M. Al Gheilani ◽  
Shehla Amer

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) can have a significant impact on the distribution and  survival of coastal fishes and invertebrates, and consequently they can affect local economies where fishing is an important activity. In October 2005, extensive algal blooms with brownish/orange discoloured water and fish mortalities were observed east of Masirah Island. Satellite images revealed cooler upwelled surface water along a broad front just prior to the event, followed by a gradual warming period coinciding with the mortalities. Depth profiles of dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, salinity and pH taken on 19th October (during the fish mortality event) showed a pronounced thermocline at ~15 m depth and minimum DO of 0.82 ml/L at 25 m depth, and a slight improvement in DO to 1.3 ml/L was measured on 22nd October (after the event). Demersal fishes of several families were prominent among mortalities. No bacterial infestation was found in fish samples and no human poisoning was reported. Planktological data showed that marine dinoflagellates Noctiluca scintillans and  Prorocentrum micans and toxic blooms of cyanobacterium Trichodesmium erythraeum were present.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1049-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Sedigh Marvasti ◽  
A. Gnanadesikan ◽  
A. A. Bidokhti ◽  
J. P. Dunne ◽  
S. Ghader

Abstract. Recent years have shown an increase in harmful algal blooms in the Northwest Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman, raising the question of whether climate change will accelerate this trend. This has led us to examine whether the Earth System Models used to simulate phytoplankton productivity accurately capture bloom dynamics in this region – both in terms of the annual cycle and interannual variability. Satellite data (SeaWIFS ocean color) show two climatological blooms in this region, a wintertime bloom peaking in February and a summertime bloom peaking in September. On a regional scale, interannual variability of the wintertime bloom is dominated by cyclonic eddies which vary in location from one year to another. Two coarse (1°) models with the relatively complex biogeochemistry (TOPAZ) capture the annual cycle but neither eddies nor the interannual variability. An eddy-resolving model (GFDL CM2.6) with a simpler biogeochemistry (miniBLING) displays larger interannual variability, but overestimates the wintertime bloom and captures eddy-bloom coupling in the south but not in the north. The models fail to capture both the magnitude of the wintertime bloom and its modulation by eddies in part because of their failure to capture the observed sharp thermocline and/or nutricline in this region. When CM2.6 is able to capture such features in the Southern part of the basin, eddies modulate diffusive nutrient supply to the surface (a mechanism not previously emphasized in the literature). For the model to simulate the observed wintertime blooms within cyclones, it will be necessary to represent this relatively unusual nutrient structure as well as the cyclonic eddies. This is a challenge in the Northern Arabian Sea as it requires capturing the details of the outflow from the Persian Gulf – something that is poorly done in global models.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeong Kyu Kwon ◽  
Guebuem Kim ◽  
Yongjin Han ◽  
Junhyeong Seo ◽  
Weol Ae Lim ◽  
...  

Abstract It is a well held concept that the magnitude of red-tide occurrence is dependent on the amount of nutrient supply if the conditions are same for temperature, salinity, light, interspecific competition, etc. However, nutrient sources fueling dinoflagellate red-tides are difficult to identify since red tides usually occur under very low inorganic-nutrient conditions. In this study, we used short-lived Ra isotopes (223Ra and 224Ra) to trace the nutrient sources fueling initiation and spread of Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms along the coast of Korea during the summers of 2014, 2016, and 2017. Horizontal and vertical distributions of nutrient concentrations correlated well with 224Ra activities in nutrient-source waters. The offshore red-tide areas showed high 224Ra activities and low-inorganic and high-organic nutrient concentrations, which are favorable for blooming C. polykrikoides in competition with diatoms. Based on Ra isotopes, the nutrients fueling red-tide initiation (southern coast of Korea) are found to be transported horizontally from inner-shore waters. However, the nutrients in the spread region (eastern coast of Korea), approximately 200 km from the initiation region, are supplied continuously from the subsurface layer by vertical mixing or upwelling. Our study highlights that short-lived Ra isotopes are excellent tracers of nutrients fueling harmful algal blooms in coastal waters.


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