Ocean chemistry was responsible for 2015 Monterey Bay disaster

In 2015, a toxic algal bloom off the US west coast caused widespread harm to marine wildlife and millions of dollars worth of losses to local fishing industries, eventually prompting the Governor of California to call for a federal declaration of disaster. Now, researchers working with the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have discovered that the unusual size and potency of the Monterey Bay bloom was caused by a combination of strong ocean currents and changing marine chemistry.