Excess nutrient loading to water bodies, also known as eutrophication, is recognized as a key factor contributing to the increasing proliferation of harmful algal blooms. More than 100 scientists from 12 different countries will gather in Baltimore from March 7 to 10 and discuss eutrophication's role in harmful algal blooms and design the next phase of comparative research necessary to address this critical global issue.

The four-day scientific conference will be held at the Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys, and is designed to bring together the top experts from around the world to review existing research on eutrophication and harmful algal blooms. The meeting is being convened by the Global Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (GEOHAB) Programme, an international organization of scientists aimed at fostering and promoting cooperative research directed toward improving the prediction of harmful algal bloom events.

From Chesapeake Bay to China, more than 40 scientists will present their latest research on harmful algal blooms during the conference -- the third in a series of international GEOHAB meetings and the only such meeting to be held in the U.S.

Some highlights of the conference include: