eutrophication

/ (juːˌtrɒfɪˈkeɪʃən) /


noun
  1. a process by which pollution from such sources as sewage effluent or leachate from fertilized fields causes a lake, pond, or fen to become overrich in organic and mineral nutrients, so that algae and cyanobacteria grow rapidly and deplete the oxygen supply

Words Nearby eutrophication

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use eutrophication in a sentence

  • eutrophication is the scientific name of this kind of overenrichment.

    The Nation's River | United States Department of the Interior

Scientific definitions for eutrophication

eutrophication

[ yōō-trŏf′ĭ-kāshən ]


  1. The process by which a lake, pond, or stream becomes eutrophic, typically as a result of mineral and organic runoff from the surrounding land. The increased growth of plants and algae that accompanies eutrophication depletes the dissolved oxygen content of the water and often causes a die-off of other organisms.

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