The Black Sea in Anapa turned red because of the storm and algae

The Black Sea in Anapa turned red because of algae, which the storm broke into numerous filamentous particles and brought to the shore, Philip Sapozhnikov, senior researcher at the Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told RIA Novosti.

Earlier, information appeared on social networks that the seawater near Anapa turned red because of algae.

According to Sapozhnikov, brown and red algae really grow in the Black Sea. On rocky ridges under water, folds form – the bottom of marl, where brown algae form, and in late spring and early summer, red epiphytic marine plants begin to develop on them.

"By the end of June, they grow in very large numbers, and then storms begin. Because the air becomes very hot, and the water still does not have time to warm up adequately to the air, and storm phenomena occur, which greatly affect the algae thickets. As a result, red epiphytic algae is torn off in huge quantities, grinds and brings to the shore. And what we see on the shore is fresh rubble, they consist of 90% torn off red filamentous algae. They also float in the water column in the form of small pieces," the scientist explained.

Sapozhnikov added that these algae are not dangerous to humans. At the same time, the exact cause of the staining of seawater will be established after scientists take a sample and conduct a study.

He noted that this is not the only version of why the water acquires a red-pinkish hue.

"It is possible that the massive separation of epiphytic filamentous red algae was accompanied by the flowering of dinoflagellates from the genus prophocentrum, which could also be facilitated by rains in the post-storm period," the agency interlocutor suggested.