![]() "And this effort kind of tackles that and says that this is how we're going to define it here."īarbara Kirkpatrick, senior advisor for GCOOS and fellow co-author, said she thinks the blooms are lasting longer and that climate change may exacerbate it. “So, I don't have a definitive answer, but I think that it's a really useful step forward, because there are so many different ways to describe severity," she said. And understanding that better will help to answer the question of whether or not blooms are getting worse. Kate Hubbard, a research scientist at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, who co-authored the study, said this research emphasizes that the cycles and severity of blooms change. For example, years with severe blooms, like 2006, 20, caused noticeable respiratory irritation, while other years with blooms, like 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2014, had almost no respiratory impacts because of more frequent than usual offshore winds.Ĭourtesy Respiratory irritation index for each bloom year for Manatee and Sarasota Counties, 2006 to 2018. Research shows that wind direction matters for the amount of respiratory irritation. Also that year, the Respiratory Irritation Index in Manatee and Sarasota counties was the highest on record. They found the most extensive red tide along the Southwest Florida coast occurred in 2018. Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System, Texas A&M University and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-Fish and Wildlife Research Institute contributed to the study. In trying to protect public health and local economies, we found that we really needed a better way to gauge blooms and how much of a threat they pose.” Others affect a smaller area or produce less irritation. Some last longer, some cause more respiratory irritation. “Red tide blooms are described as hitting Southwest Florida nine of every 10 years,” said the study’s lead author Richard Stumpf, oceanographer with NOAA-NCCOS in a press release. The paper recently published in the peer-review journal PLOS One, shows that red tide blooms most frequently occur from Sanibel Island to Tampa Bay between September and January, typically forming in August and continue through the winter, with October and November being the months most frequently impacted. Temperatures along the southern coast are usually cooler than inland areas during the summer because of the sea breeze.įind more information on current weather conditions and air and water climate.Courtesy This is a map of the study area. Over the last 30 years, the lowest temperature Grand Strand ocean water has reached is 47☏ (in January) and the highest is 88☏ (in July). Ocean Water Triviaĭuring the summer months, the ocean water along the Grand Strand is about 20☏ warmer than the ocean water along New York beaches. ![]() Swimming in contaminated water may result in minor illnesses such as sore throats or diarrhea. Swimming immediately after a rainstorm or in water discharging from storm drainage pipes should be avoided. The possibility of pollutants in ocean water is greatest after a heavy rain, when runoff from lawns and streets may flush out trash, fertilizer, or pesticides. If contaminants are detected, a swimming advisory is posted in the affected area. The surf is tested regularly at 20 sites along the coastline. The program meets Environmental Protection Agency standards, established in cooperation with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control. To ensure that our beach water is clean and safe, a water-monitoring program is in place. The health and safety of residents and visitors are of the highest importance to each of the local governments in the Myrtle Beach area. ![]()
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