Several hundred metres off the ground, a picture snapped by a Qantas passenger shows the chaotic beach scenes in Adelaide last weekend when wild weather combined with South Australia’s ongoing algal bloom.
The picture shows white frothy waves pounding the shoreline near Glenelg. Foam covering the region’s beaches last week was feared to be linked to the devastating bloom, which has killed thousands of marine creatures.
Professor Ivan Nagelkerken, a marine ecologist from Adelaide University, told Yahoo News the frothy waves along Glenelg, a popular Adelaide tourist beach, were likely agitated by strong winds, but the visibly white tide is likely a combination of the rough conditions and the growing algal bloom.
What’s more, he warned the crisis could carry into “into spring and even summer”.
“If it’s very windy, you will get regular foam. That’s just air bubbles that top the waves, and it’s normal… as soon as it hits the beach, the foam is gone,” he explained to Yahoo. “If the foam persists, and you see a layer of foam sitting on the beach, those are actually the dead skeletons and the organic material of the algae.”
Images captured at Port Noarlunga, just 24 kilometres down the coast from Glenelg, show the beach there covered in a cloudy foam.
“It was such an unearthly scene, the beach looked like a bubble bath for literally as far as the eye could see,” one local told Yahoo News, while another described the scene to Yahoo as “surreal”.
Port Noarlunga was likened to a ‘bubble bath’ with all the foam over the weekend. Source: Reddit/stuntguy3000 & dogryan100
Aussies experiencing symptoms urged to stay away from beaches
South Australian MP Stephen Patterson called out health officials for not providing more information to the public, claiming he felt “irritated in the chest” while standing on the beach.
“It’s causing me to cough, and other locals have reported the same symptoms,” he said. “Yet again, we’re waiting for health advice from the government.”
SA’s Department of Primary Industries and Regions have urged Australians to avoid swimming at beaches where there is any visible foam, and to avoid walking along beaches if they are experiencing symptoms, such as skin and eye irritation and any respiratory issues, including coughing and shortness of breath.
More than 450 marine species have been impacted by the algal bloom in South Australia. Source: Australian Conservation Foundation
Algal bloom able to ‘sustain itself’ with no end in sight
The algal bloom, which was first detected in March and has since spread more than 500 kilometres, has killed upward of 14,000 animals and impacted over 450 species, including fish, sharks, dolphins and rays.
High nutrient levels and high sea temperatures play key roles in helping the deadly algae thrive.
Nagelkerken told Yahoo that the reason it could continue into summer is due to the bloom’s impressive ability to “sustain itself”.
“The problem with it is, as it dies, it reuses organic matter released by the dead algae to sustain itself. It is pretty strong in sustaining itself,” he said.
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