Remote-controlled devices will search waters for red tide

April 14th, 2006 by admin in Technology and NEWS

SARASOTA - Don’t panic if you spot a winged torpedo in the Gulf of Mexico, it’s not like a scene from “The Hunt for Red October.” It’s the hunt for red tide.

Scientists are preparing to launch remote-controlled devices that look like torpedoes this summer in hopes of finding blooms of red tide, the toxic algae that last year killed thousands of fish in the Gulf and created a stink that drove away tourists from area beaches.

Not that anyone wants red tide, but researchers say it’s sort of like finding hurricanes: The earlier you spot the blooms and the more you learn about how they are formed, the better for everyone.

“We hope to find one before it makes landfall,” said Richard Stumpf, an oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has helped finance the program. That will help scientists predict whether the blooms are going to come near the shore later.

The search will be conducted by three bright yellow “gliders,” which were purchased for about $75,000 each and have been fitted with a red tide sensing device invented by Gary Kirkpatrick, a scientist at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.

The robotic gliders can be controlled remotely and sent to specific areas where red tide has been reported. They also can roam the sea searching for red tide that might otherwise go unnoticed until it bloomed large and began killing fish.

“You can basically just be out there exploring,” said John Dunnigan, assistant administrator of NOAA.

Researchers already take regular water samples in the Gulf and receive information about red tide from fishermen and other volunteers. That information is valuable, said Cindy Heil, a senior scientist with the Fish and Wildlife Research institute and an expert in red tide.

But beginning in August or so, the gliders will provide additional information by staying in the Gulf for as much as a month at a time, and diving as deep as 100 feet. Scientists at Mote will be able to track a glider’s position constantly, and can put the data in a computer program to create a three-dimensional model of red tide outbreaks. Eventually, all this will be put on a Web site the public can view.

Finding red tide early is important, not just for forecasting but also for learning more about why and how outbreaks occur. Red tide blooms often begin below the surface, another reason scientists believe the gliders will help them find the blooms early.

The glider may look like a torpedo, but it’s not fast: It travels at about half a mile per hour. It communicates data through radio and satellite links.

On board, the red tide sensor uses an optical device to check water samples for red tide. This device does have some drawbacks. For one thing, it doesn’t work so well in darker water, and sometimes darker water is found close to the shoreline. Also, it is not 100 percent accurate, so another test must be done to confirm the sensor has really found red tide.

source:HeraldToday.com