High levels of salts turn Odesa canal blood red

Ukrainian ecologists are puzzled after a canal in Odesa region turned crimson red.

Research has shown that the change in colour was caused by the high levels of salt in the canal; some areas contain as much as 45%.

Serhiy Gytsalko, ecologist: "Of course this is unnatural. Certain bacteria grow with high salinity and this is what causes this color. If they didn't pump water from the sea then this canal would have been smaller and everything would have been whiter."

A team of skydivers from Odesa managed to capture the scale of the transformation. According to environmentalists the strawberry color is produced by certain organisms which absorb sunlight and produce a red pigment giving the water a red shade. Salt crystals can also be found along the shoreline.




Source: Ukraine Today