How can climate change affect algal blooms?

Climate change can significantly influence algal blooms by enhancing nutrient runoff and creating favorable growth conditions for algae. As temperatures rise due to climate change, the warming of water bodies creates an ideal environment for algae to thrive. Warmer waters can lead to increased stratification, preventing mixing of the water layers, which typically helps maintain oxygen levels and nutrient balance.

Additionally, more intense rainfall events, a consequence of climate change, can result in higher runoff from agricultural areas, carrying fertilizers and other nutrients into water bodies. This influx of nutrients, particularly nitrogen and phosphorus, acts as a catalyst for algal blooms, causing rapid increases in algal populations.

While the other choices suggest scenarios that would limit algal growth, such as reducing nutrient runoff, increasing ice coverage, or decreasing water temperatures, they do not align with the observed consequences of climate change on aquatic ecosystems. Warmer temperatures and increased nutrient availability are directly linked to the frequency and intensity of harmful algal blooms, making the enhancement of nutrient runoff and growth conditions the most accurate connection to climate change's impact on algal proliferation.