Nutrient Removal from Chinese Coastal Waters by Large-Scale Seaweed Aquaculture Using Artificial Upwelling

Abstract

Ecological engineering by artificial upwelling for enhancing seaweed growth and consequently increasing nutrient removal from seawater has proved promising in combating intense coastal eutrophication. However, a key issue needs to be answered: how much economic and ecological benefit could this engineering bring if it were to be implemented in national aquaculture areas. This study estimated the promoting effect of nutrient concentration change induced by artificial upwelling on kelp growth using a model simulation based on the temperature, light intensity, and nutrient concentration data from three bays in Shandong Province, China— Aoshan Bay, Jiaozhou Bay, and Sanggou Bay. Our results indicate that ecological engineering by artificial upwelling can increase the average yield of kelp by 55 g per plant. Furthermore, based on the current existing kelp aquaculture area of China and the aquaculture density of 12 plants/m2, we inferred that this ecological engineering could increase the natural kelp yield by 291,956 t and the removal of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) nutrients by 4875−6422 t and 730−1080 t, respectively.

Keywords

• eutrophication
• ecological engineering
• artificial upwelling
• seaweed aquaculture
• nutrient removal