Spread of White Microcrystalline Pollution in Spain’s Mar Menor Lagoon

The Spanish Institute of Marine Research and the University of Murcia released a one-year survey report indicating that white microcrystalline pollution in the Mar Menor Lagoon has expanded to 12.3 square kilometers, accounting for 9% of the lagoon’s total area. Only three fish species remain in the core polluted area, compared to 21 species found in healthy waters, representing an 86% decline in biodiversity; 6.7 square kilometers of underwater vegetation have died off, and light penetration at the lake bottom has dropped from 18.3% to 3.9%. Fertilizer runoff from farmland has triggered eutrophication, and suspended calcite microcrystals in the water have formed patches of white pollution. Pollution in this coastal wetland reserve has persisted for four years, and remediation efforts have progressed slowly.