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USF Collaborates with Mexican Scientists to Combat Red Tide

The Gulf of Mexico’s battle with red tide has gone binational.

A cooperative effort between the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science and scientists in Mexico has united scientists in studying red tide, the toxic Karenia brevis algae which can cause major health problems and wreak economic havoc on beach communities all along the Gulf shores.

The new effort has united scientists on either side of the Gulf and is producing more accurate tracking of red tide. It signals a new era of scientific cooperation between states and nations who share a common dependency on the Gulf, say researchers at USF’s College of Marine Science.

More than 100 scientists from both the U.S. and Mexico are now working together under the U.S. Mexico bi-national Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System, organized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Gulf of Mexico Large Marine Ecosystem program, writes USF graduate student Inia Soto in the new edition of EOS Transactions. Soto is a member of the USF team participating in the joint project, including Biological Oceanographer Frank Muller-Karger, Optical Oceanographer Chuanmin Hu and research staff members Jennifer Cannizzaro and Jennifer Wolny.

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