The process by which nutrient enrichment of a water body leads to profuse growth of algae and subsequent oxygen depletion is known as:

💡 Solution & Explanation

Eutrophication refers to the ecosystem response to the excessive addition of artificial or natural nutrients, chiefly nitrates and phosphates, resulting in algal blooms and subsequent oxygen depletion. This process suffocates aquatic fauna and degrades water quality, transforming clear lakes into choked, nutrient-rich water bodies. Salinization involves the accumulation of soluble salts in soils or water, whereas desertification describes the permanent degradation of land in arid and semi-arid regions. Nutrient runoff from agricultural fertilizers and untreated sewage serves as the primary anthropogenic driver of cultural eutrophication.