Scientists from the Leibniz Institute of Water Ecology and Inland Fisheries in Berlin pointed out that the “as yet unidentified, toxic species of algae” may be responsible for the catastrophe. Their assumptions are cited on its websites by the rbb24 news portal of the public radio station in Berlin and Brandenburg.
“This would explain the high oxygen content despite the high temperatures“- said Christian Wolter, a water ecologist from the Leibniz Institute, who has been researching the Oder for 30 years, told Rbb. According to scientists, it is not known yet what external factors could have caused the algae bloom.
Algae? Possible, but what is most interesting is the high salt content in the water
Also Wolf von Tuempling, a water analyst at the Helmholtz Environmental Research Center in Magdeburg, believes that the toxic algae thesis is plausible, but may as well imagine other causes of the disaster. Researchers are still mainly puzzled by the high salt content in water. Illegal discharges of environmentally harmful substances may have played a role in this case. “However, this theory has not (yet) been proven,” writes rbb.
It also informs about the scientists’ assumptions newspaper “Maerkische Oderzeitung” (MOZ), which reminds that the Ministry of Environment of Brandenburg, among the first results of the water tests in the Oder river, reported a high salt content and the associated strong algae bloom. It is known, however, that “mercury could not be the decisive cause: the values were within the environmental quality standard or slightly exceeded it,” reads “MOZ”.
According to the newspaper, toxic algae blooms are a serious problem all over the world. They are found mainly in coastal areas of marine waters, but are also recorded in lakes or rivers. “In Australia, for example, in 2019 there was a mass death of fish in basin Murray-Darling, Australia’s largest river system in the sedimentary basin. It is said that heat waves and low water levels, as well as the influx of nutrients, have led to massive algae blooms, “Maerkische Oderzeitung” writes.
The article comes from the site “Deutsche Welle”.