[China] An algae-covered beach in Qingdao in eastern China’s Shandong province.

The massive algal bloom, consisting of the seaweed species Ulva prolifera, usually forms in the Yellow Sea about 300 kilometres south of Qingdao in mid-April, and arrives on the city’s coast between mid-June and late July, according to Professor Zhu Mingyuan , of the Qingdao-based First Institute of Oceanography under the State Oceanic Administration.

The algae bloom is an annual occurrence in the city, the algal phenomenon is normally caused by an abundance of nutrients in the water, especially phosphorus, although the triggers for the enormous blooms appearing in the Yellow Sea since 2007 remain uncertain.

Photo courtesy: AFP

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