According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences - “A harmful algal bloom (HAB) occurs when toxin-producing algae grow excessively in a body of water. The excessive algal growth, or algal bloom, becomes visible to the naked eye and can be green, blue-green, red, or brown, depending on the type of algae.
Many factors may contribute to HABs but understanding how these factors come together to create a harmful bloom of algae is a topic of ongoing research. Scientists know that certain environmental conditions, such as warmer water temperatures in the summer and excessive nutrients from fertilizers or sewage waste brought by runoff, trigger HABs, but they are still learning more.
As climate change gradually warms the earth’s climate, scientists expect HABs to become more frequent, prolonged, and severe, and in different geographic areas.”