Role for groundwater in Red Tides?

In the new issue of Sound Waves, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist Christopher Gerald Smith investigates the role of groundwater in initiating blooms of Karenia brevis on the nitrogen-limited west Florida shelf.

Submarine Groundwater Discharge Along the West Florida Shelf: Is Groundwater an Important Nutrient Source for Florida's Red Tides?

Harmful algal blooms have been observed along the west Florida shelf and adjacent water bodies for more than 150 years (some suggest as long ago as 1570), with the first historically documented bloom dating back to 1854. Modern harmful algal blooms, commonly referred to as "red tides," are dominated by the brevetoxin-producing dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. Brevetoxins are neurotoxins that pose a threat to marine and human health. The greatest densities of K. brevis blooms generally occur along the west Florida shelf between Pinellas and Lee Counties, Florida.

Read the entire article at USGS Sound Waves