Red Tide Back In Town In Sarasota, Manatee Cos; Too Bad Federal Scientists Can't Help Track It

[hatrack]

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The Red Tide algae bloom that floated away from shore around Thanksgiving has popped back up near the beaches of Sarasota and Manatee counties, but scientists say the federal government shutdown is making it harder to track where the toxic algae is and where it might go next. Because of the shutdown, federal scientists who were helping analyze data and produce forecasts and other reports are sitting at home, not working in their laboratories.

"Tracking the Red Tide takes a village," explained Barb Kirkpatrick, a harmful algae bloom expert who is executive director of the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association, which works with federal scientists.

One important member of that village, she said, is Rick Stumpf, a scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment in Silver Spring, Md. He leads a group who use satellites to collect imagery of the gulf and then interpret the imagery. The satellites can spot where concentrations of the algae are growing in the gulf.

Before the shutdown, caused by a dispute over President Trump's demand for $5 billion to pay for a border wall, Stumpf was sending out weekly reports on his team's analysis of the satellite images to state and local government officials. But not any more. "I am sure they are missing his reports," Kirkpatrick said.

EDIT

http://www.tampabay.com/environment/as-red-tide-returns-to-florida-coast-government-shutdown-affects-some-efforts-to-track-it-20190109/

[beachbum bob]

1. crap heading down to this area in 3 weeks for 3 months