With droughts and downpours, climate change feeds Chesapeake Bay algal blooms

Screen Shot 2016-08-10 at 2.37.21 PMNitrogen-rich agricultural runoff into the Chesapeake Bay presents an ongoing environmental and economic concern for the bay’s massive watershed. Pollution from fertilizer application feeds algal blooms that poison humans and marine life, and devastate fisheries. A study led by Princeton University researchers shows that weather patterns tied to climate change may increase the severity of algal blooms by changing how soil nutrients leach into the watershed.