Driving Factors of Geosmin Appearance in a Mediterranean River Basin: The Ter River Case.

In recent decades, human activity coupled with climate change has led to a deterioration in the quality of surface freshwater. This has been related to an increase in the appearance of algal blooms, which can produce organic compounds that can be toxic or can affect the organoleptic characteristics of the water, such as its taste and odor. Among these latter compounds is geosmin, a metabolite produced by certain cyanobacteria that confers an earthy taste to water and which can be detected by humans at very low concentrations (nanogram per liter).