A rapid increase in the population of algae or cyanobacteria in a body of water, most often driven by an excess of nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizer runoff or sewage combined with warm temperatures and abundant sunlight. As a bloom dies off, its decomposition can consume so much dissolved oxygen that it creates a hypoxic dead zone incapable of supporting fish and other aquatic life, a growing problem including the Gulf of Mexico's seasonal dead zone.
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Eutrophication, the nutrient over-enrichment of a body of water, is the primary documented driver of algal bloom events, which proliferate in response to the excess nitrogen and phosphorus it introduces.
Red tide is the common name for a harmful algal bloom, typically one dominated by pigmented dinoflagellates or other algae that discolor coastal water; the two terms describe the same event.
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