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Author Topic: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom  (Read 4711 times)

Jim Hunt

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Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« on: August 14, 2018, 02:36:22 PM »
Please forgive me if there's a topic for this already, but via Kim Cobb on Twitter:

https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida-gov-rick-scott-declares-state-of-emergency-over-red-tide/

Quote
Tons of dead fish. A smell so awful you gag with one inhale. Empty beaches, empty roads, empty restaurants.

A toxic algae bloom has overrun Florida’s southern Gulf Coast this summer, devastating sea life and driving people from the water.

Red tide — a naturally occurring toxic algae bloom that can be harmful to people with respiratory problems— has spread throughout the Gulf of Mexico, drifting in the water since it began in October. Stretching about 150 miles, it’s affecting communities from Naples in the south to Anna Maria Island in the north and appears to be moving northward.

On Monday, Gov. Rick Scott declared a state of emergency in seven counties along Florida’s Gulf that have been overrun by the pungent bloom. He also ordered $1.5 million to be spent on various clean-up efforts and to help business impacted by dwindling tourists.

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bbr2314

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #1 on: August 14, 2018, 03:11:03 PM »
At some point won't it get to a stage where something horrible is released from the dying everything and everyone on land dies as well (not everywhere, just localized near the bloom?)? How far off could that be?

If it can be "harmful" to people with respiratory problems why couldn't it kill people in general if it gets bad enough?

jacksmith4tx

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #2 on: August 14, 2018, 03:35:41 PM »
I posted a story about algae blooms last month:
https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,1512.msg163693.html#msg163693

Anatoxin-a, Lyngbyatoxin-a, Saxitoxin & Cyanobacteria

Check out the list of symptoms.

When I see stories about sea level rising I think we are missing the bigger problem: It's not how high the water is rising, it's what's in the water that should be worrying us.
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bbr2314

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #3 on: August 14, 2018, 05:23:35 PM »
I posted a story about algae blooms last month:
https://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,1512.msg163693.html#msg163693

Anatoxin-a, Lyngbyatoxin-a, Saxitoxin & Cyanobacteria

Check out the list of symptoms.

When I see stories about sea level rising I think we are missing the bigger problem: It's not how high the water is rising, it's what's in the water that should be worrying us.
But how long does it take until the current bloom or future blooms reach the threshold for human death? With the way the current event is unfolding I don't think it is far off...

Jim Hunt

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #4 on: August 14, 2018, 07:01:15 PM »
When I see stories about sea level rising I think we are missing the bigger problem

I quite agree. If you want more than a few sleepless nights talk to Prof. Sarah Gurr from Exeter University. Or read one of her papers: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sarah_Gurr

By way of example, try this recent one from Science:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180517143604.htm

Quote
Growing levels of resistance to antifungal treatments could lead to increased disease outbreaks and affect food security around the world.

An international team, led by researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Exeter, warns that improvements are needed in how existing drugs are used, as well as an increased focus on the discovery of new treatments, in order to avoid a "global collapse" in our ability to control and fight fungal infections.

More directly "climate" related there's:



Skip to 2 mins in to miss the intro, then maybe 18:00 if the techie stuff gets too much.
« Last Edit: August 14, 2018, 07:14:09 PM by Jim Hunt »
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pileus

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #5 on: August 15, 2018, 08:26:57 AM »
As a (newish) resident of Tampa can confirm this is getting more visibility and press here.  Red tide typically remains south, but is encroaching near the mouth of Tampa Bay.  There were actually reports of unusual crab deaths a few days ago in the Bay.  The primary storyline, of course, is economic at this time.  Reminds me of the first part of Jaws, when the mayor and business owners shouted away the danger because if they took action it would harm profits.  Of course in this case it’s a systemic problem caused by increasing water temps and ag runoff, so nothing at all can be done to stop it in the immediate term.  There was a beautiful whale shark that washed up a few weeks ago a few hours south on Sanibel, a victim of the red tide.  Lots of turtles and dolphins are also being wiped out, and enormous numbers of fish.  It’s actually pretty difficult to focus on any human impacts right now with all the devastation being seen among the wildlife.

Sigmetnow

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #6 on: August 15, 2018, 02:04:07 PM »
I recently posted this in the “Places Becoming Less Liveable” thread:

“Living in South Florida in the summer and not having the beach as option is not a great place to be.”

Red tides in the Gulf of Mexico and toxic blue-green algae in inland waters are killing animals and stoking outrage in South Florida.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/toxic-red-tide-making-floridians-sick-angry-n897181
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Buddy

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #7 on: August 15, 2018, 05:11:48 PM »
Just imagine if Florida had a governor who was a climate denier AND he was running for the Senate AND as the current Governor he didn't regulate the Agricultural runoff that makes the Red Tide worse.

And just imagine if his name was RICK SCOTT ......

Just imagine......

https://thinkprogress.org/algae-crisis-red-tide-florida-activists-2bf55a88244c/

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pileus

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #8 on: August 16, 2018, 02:06:08 PM »
This is the whale shark that washed up on Sanibel Island a few weeks ago.  Sanibel is one of the premier shelling beaches in the world, it’s oriented more east to west and catches the Gulf currents.  There was a recent die off of sand dollars in the area as well.


Sigmetnow

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #9 on: August 18, 2018, 06:18:07 PM »
Cape Coral, Florida Gulf coast:  Red Tide effects are significant enough these days to warrant an advisory from the National Weather Service.  (Air temperatures are around a normal-for-August 90°F [32°C].)

Quote
Beach Hazards Statement

Coastal Hazard Message
National Weather Service Tampa Bay Ruskin FL
812 PM EDT Fri Aug 17 2018

...BEACH HAZARDS STATEMENT REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH MONDAY
EVENING...

* RED TIDE HAZARDS...Possible respiratory irritation in some
  coastal areas of Sarasota, Charlotte, and Lee counties.
For red tide forecast information visit
https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/hab/gomx.html

* FLORIDA RED TIDE RESPIRATORY IRRITATION IMPACTS...Symptoms may
  include coughing, sneezing, and tearing eyes.
* FLORIDA RED TIDE RESPIRATORY IRRITATION TIMING/LOCATION...
  NOAA FORECAST:
  Coastal northern/southern Sarasota County: Gulf
  coast...possible Saturday and Sunday. Bay regions...possible
  Saturday. Bay regions of southern Sarasota County...possible
  Sunday.

  Coastal northern/southern Charlotte County: Gulf coast and bay
  regions...possible Saturday and Sunday.

  Coastal northern/central/southern Lee County: Gulf coast and
  bay regions...possible Saturday and Sunday.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Florida red tide observations...You can find unaffected beaches
by checking reports of recent local observations and data: Mote
Marine Laboratory daily beach conditions at
https://visitbeaches.org and the Florida Fish and Wildlife
Conservation Commission (FWC) red tide status at
myfwc.com/redtidestatus.

Florida red tide health information...Consult the Florida
Department of Health at: www.floridahealth.gov/environmental-
health/aquatic-toxins/red-tide.html or call the Poison Control
Center at: 1 800 222 1222.
...
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Tor Bejnar

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #10 on: August 20, 2018, 08:39:01 PM »
I thought the first comment in this DeSmogBlog article on Forida's toxic waters had probably accurate information:
Quote
johndwyer  • 4 days ago

The Fanjuls, the Dudas, Florida Crystals, US Sugar and Affiliates, King Ranch, Inc., Star Ranch & Star Farms, Wedgeworth Farms, Inc., Sugar Cane Growers Cooperative, Hand Homer J, Trucane Sugar Corp, as well as the handful of private land owners with fewer than 5,000 acres each, use the Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee to irrigate their crops and wash “away” their wastes. The discharge is toxic, loaded with agricultural runoff: pesticides, fertilizer, and phosphate mining fluids, not to mention atrazine, simazine, mercury, propazine, and glyphosate--perfect for killing living creatures with vibrio vulnificus, streptococcus (group A strep), klebsiella, clostridium, and E. coli that reproduce and flourish. The cattle & chicken manure (Florida is the # 2 state in the US for cattle production) contains not only e-coli but also all the antibiotics and hormones fed and injected into the cows and chickens and the agricultural effluent adds the atrazine, simazine, propazine, and glyphosate into the mix. It washes untreated into the Kissimmee River and Lake Okeechobee. When it is shunted out to sea through the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie rivers east and west of Lake Okeechobee, the water becomes a perfect place for killing the tourist industry, the largest employer in the state of Florida. It is killing aquatic life and creating dead zones in the Gulf and the Atlantic. It is even killing people.
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Sigmetnow

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #11 on: August 26, 2018, 01:52:30 PM »
Florida's red tide has produced 2,000 tons of dead marine life and cost businesses more than $8 million
Quote
Five counties in Florida remain at the mercy of the weather and water currents as a "red tide" algae bloom continues to choke their waters, marine life and economies.

Red tide has spread to roughly 130 miles of coastline in Florida's Manatee, Collier, Lee, Charlotte and Sarasota counties.

When algae blooms and then dies, it releases toxins that can kill marine life. Red tides are amorphous and can be steered by wind and water currents.

One day, with the winds blowing off-shore, only a few dead fish may wash onto beaches. The next could be a bad day with red tide staining the crashing waves, littering white sands with dead fish and other marine life.

Florida's Governor Rick Scott has issued a state of emergency for the five counties and local governments now face an uncertain and uphill battle as they work to clean up their shorelines. ...
https://www.cnn.com/2018/08/22/us/red-tide-fishkill-costs-trnd/index.html
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AbruptSLR

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #12 on: August 27, 2018, 03:31:36 AM »
The thought of a Super Bloom off the coast of Florida seems singularly unpleasant:

Title: "What Is a Brown Tide? Scientists Fear Florida Red Tide Could Merge with new Outbreak to Create Super Bloom"

https://www.newsweek.com/what-brown-tide-outbreak-red-1090429

Extract: "The annual outbreak of algae called a brown tide has begun off the coast of western Florida and scientists are hoping it doesn’t meet up with the red tide that they’re already facing.

The brown tide near Florida is made of Trichodesmium, a cyanobacterium, or blue-green algae. The bloom occurs every year in the Gulf of Mexico and has been known to extend so far that’s it’s visible from space.

Records of the brown tide date back to the 1700s, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Captain James Cook of the British Royal Navy first wrote about large, brown blooms in the water that looked like sandbars.

Since the algae can form colonies that are big enough to be seen by the naked eye, sailors sometimes refer to it as “sea sawdust”. The tide is brown when it’s healthy, but when it begins to decay it turns green, then pink or red, then white. The toxins also smell sweet when they are decaying, like freshly cut hay."
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TerryM

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #14 on: August 27, 2018, 08:09:03 PM »
I'm unsure which thread to post this on.


Is anyone aware of a connection between blue green algae and insect population decline. I've noticed what seems to be a huge loss of insects accompanying a significant increase in blue green algae here in South Western Ontario Canada.


I recognize that this is far removed from Florida, but who would know more about swarms of insects and scummed over ponds than Floridians? ::)
Terry

Sigmetnow

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Re: Florida's "Red Tide" algal bloom
« Reply #15 on: October 06, 2018, 04:43:23 PM »
It’s spreading.

Florida confirms toxic red tide spreading along Atlantic coast
Quote
A red tide is destroying wildlife across Florida’s southwest coast

An ongoing red tide is killing wildlife throughout Florida’s southwest coast and has left beaches littered with dead fish, sea turtles, manatees and a whale shark. Additional footage courtesy of Southwest Florida TV via Facebook.

Dozens of dead fish littered a Palm Beach County beach Wednesday as a toxic red tide appeared to spread along Florida’s Atlantic coast.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials confirmed Wednesday that low to moderate amounts of the algae that cause red tide have now turned up off three counties along the state’s more densely populated east coast. Blooms were confirmed in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties, marking the first appearance of red tide along Atlantic shores in more than a decade. ...
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/environment/article219419020.html
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