Huge blooms of phytoplankton — microscopic algae floating on the ocean's surface — have become larger and more frequent along the world's coastlines, according to new research, bringing benefits to fisheries but also potentially causing harm.
Between 2003 and 2020, coastal phytoplankton blooms increased by about 13% in extent, covering an additional 4 million square kilometers of the global ocean, the Nature study found. And the blooms occurred more often, up by 59% during that period.
