Okuzeka
Environment & Climate vocabulary · Pollution and Environmental Quality

Eutrophication

Meaning in environment & climate, with examples

nounAdvanced term

In environment & climate, eutrophication means: A process in which too many nutrients, mainly nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilizers and sewage, enter a lake or sea, so algae grow rapidly and their decay uses up the oxygen in the water.

In Turkish: ötrofikasyon

How it is used

A technical term in water quality and EIA reports. Signs include algal blooms, murky water, fish kills and 'dead zones' with very little oxygen (hypoxia). Control measures include nutrient removal at wastewater treatment plants and reducing fertilizer runoff from farms.

Example sentences

  1. Eutrophication causes algal blooms in the lake every summer.

  2. Upgrading the treatment plants to remove phosphorus is the key to reversing eutrophication.

Common collocations

  • algal bloom
  • nutrient pollution
  • dead zone
  • reverse eutrophication
  • fertilizer runoff
  • water pollutionContamination of rivers, lakes, seas or groundwater by substances such as sewage, industrial chemicals, fertilizers, oil or plastics that harm people and aquatic life.
  • wastewater treatmentThe process of removing pollutants from used water from homes, businesses and industry so that it can be safely released into rivers or the sea, or reused.
  • ecosystemA community of living things together with their physical environment, such as soil, water and climate, all interacting as one system, for example a forest, lake or coral reef.
  • pollutionThe presence in air, water or soil of harmful substances, or of noise, light or heat, at levels that damage people's health, wildlife or the environment.

More terms: Pollution and Environmental Quality

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: