By the time they were over, a series of massive algal blooms along the west coast of Florida in 2020 would be linked to some 2,000 tons of dead marine life around Tampa Bay. The human costs were stark, too, including a double-digit increase in asthma cases in Sarasota and Pinellas counties, and estimated losses of around $1 billion across economic sectors from tourism to fisheries.
The scientists examined the West Florida Shelf, a stretch of continental crust arcing from the Panhandle to the Keys. From its origins in other parts of the Gulf of Mexico, K. brevis is carried toward the coastline on strong winds and. Recent research has shown that western Florida, like many coastal communities, may be increasingly vulnerable to outbreaks because these algae flourish in nutrient-rich, warm conditions fueled by runoff, fertilizer, and climate change.
K. brevis events are especially concerning because the algae produce a potent neurotoxin that in high concentrations can cause massive fish kills and poison marine life such as turtles, manatees, and birds. The toxin can also be inhaled, causing respiratory illness in humans, and it can accumulate in shellfish, resulting in gastrointestinal illness in people who consume them.
Sifting through TROPOMI data acquired along the coast of western Florida between 2018 and 2020, the team found that the instrument gathered about twice as much fluorescence information emitted by the algae as observed by previous methods that rely on Another ocean color instrument—scheduled to launch early in 2024—will look at the world's marine ecosystems like never before. NASA's PACE, or Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission, will study phytoplankton and other ocean biology, atmospheric aerosols, and clouds in many more wavelengths than previous sensors.
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