In the battle against toxic algae blooms that wreak havoc on vacations, marine life and coastal economies, a group of University of South Florida researchers say they've developed a promising tool that could help control blooms such as "red tide."
A crystallized material developed at the university in Tampa has shown success in the lab at diminishing the growth of the algae that spawns fish-killing red tide blooms along the U.S. Gulf and Atlantic coasts, said George Philippidis and Ioannis Spanopoulos, a pair of scientists working with doctoral students to further test and develop the new product.
Because the product doesn't dissolve in seawater and is activated by sunlight, they hope it could be deployed with nets or other methods to address algal blooms, then collected and reused, said Spanopoulos, an assistant professor of chemistry at USF.
But don't expect to see large scale deployment of this or other technologies in coastal waters right away.
The road to getting funding and government approvals to use potential technologies in the open ocean can be filled with hurdles, said Donald Anderson, an emeritus research scholar at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and director of the U.S. National Office for Harmful Algal Blooms.
It would be "of great benefit to coastal communities and marine life to get some of the developing products approved," said Anderson, one of a diverse group of researchers working to advance solutions. "Right now, there's very little that can be done cost effectively on a large scale in the U.S. to prevent the spread of blooms in marine waters."
Harmful algal blooms can kill thousands of fish and other marine life
What is red tide and why is it a concern?
The naturally occurring algal blooms known as "red tide" – for the discoloration they create in coastal waters – were documented off Florida as early as 1844, and may have been the cause of large fish killsnoted by Spanish explorers. Caused by a group of organisms known as dinoflagellates, they are found around the globe in deep water and along coasts.
The toxin-producingKarenia brevisis found along the Gulf coast, including Texas and Mexico, and along the Southeastern Atlantic coast. It causes die-offs in birds, marine mammals and turtles
The toxins accumulate in oysters and clams, and humans or animals that eat the contaminated seafood can developneurological and gastrointestinal illness. The algae's fragile cells also become aerosols that cause respiratory problems when inhaled.
Intense algae blooms harmful to coastal economies
The blooms pose "a recurring and significant threat" to coastal tourism nationally and globally, costing millions each year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. A persistent red tide bloom off Florida in 2018 caused an estimated $2.7 billion in economic damages to fishing, recreation and short-term rentals, according to a study published in the Journal of Environmental Management.
Significant advancements have been made in understanding the blooms, but "effective methods for controlling and mitigating blooms at larger geographic scales remain elusive," states thewebsite for the U.S. Harmful Algal Bloom-Control Technologies Incubator.
The logistics and practicality of scaling the product up from the lab to the field is a huge challenge.
Both the USF scientists and Anderson work with the incubator, a larger collaboration with NOAA, the University of Maryland andMote Marine Laboratory in Southwest Florida. The Florida lab also is overseeing distribution of some state seed money for promising technologies to counter the economy-killing blooms.
The incubator aims "to streamline the vetting process for novel" harmful algal bloom control ideas and allow researchers and funders to "focus on efforts that promise to be feasible, environmentally acceptable, scalable, and cost-effective."
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What is the new bloom treatment at USF?
The powder-like material, made from microscopic, sponge-like crystalline structures, contains naturally occurring bismuth and iodide, said Spanopoulos, a chemist. When activated, the material diminishes the growth of red tide blooms.
It grew out of an effort to develop multifunctional materials for applications in medicine, industry and the environment. This material acts as a porous semiconductor with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity. When it showed action against some viruses, that prompted the team to test it against the algae.
Theoretically the product could be imbued into a net, placed on the ocean surface, then recovered and used in another location, Spanopoulos said. They don't have data yet for field application, he said, "but that would be the big picture for our materials."
The scientists joined forces to put chemistry, biology and sustainability together to try to engineer something that would be easy to deploy and inexpensive, said Philippidis, acting dean of USF's Patel College of Global Sustainability and a biochemical engineer whose work focuses on algae and sustainable biofuels and materials.
They're excited with their initial results. They say the product doesn't affect beneficial algae and isn't toxic to humans or pets. Now the team is testing additional formulas in lab tanks and looking at the creation of deployable devices. They're optimistic it could also work against other bacteria, such as toxic blue-green algae blooms.
New strategies needed, but must meet a high bar
The USF proposal is one of quite a few technologies being looked at for bloom control, Anderson said. He finds the product "clever" and wishes the team luck.
"I'm happy to see people getting supported," he said. "Most of us believe that you need a toolbox of 10 different strategies, and I'm open to everybody developing them."
An arduous process remains for products developed in research facilities to receive the required federal and state approvals for use on open ocean water, Anderson said. The suite of complex regulations that require testing, approval and registration become massively expensive and take years of effort and toxicology studies.
Scientists have had some success with early warnings for blooms, and with treating blooms in fresh water, he said. In Asia, products are being used operationally in coastal waters, for example a clay flocculation that Anderson worked on for years. The clay is sprayed on the water in a process similar to that used in desalination plants and to clean drinking water.
He and colleagues originally developed a clay made with a byproduct of phosphate mining. It was "extraordinarily effective" at removing red tide cells, but shelved after encountering environmental opposition. He started looking at it again after the 2018 outbreak prompted state interest in a solution. He and a team of investigators from several institutions are working to formulate a version they hope can be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency for U.S. use. They've been winding their way through the federal approvals process for four years.
"In five to 10 years, I would imagine we'd be someplace where we would have a lot to offer, but right now it's mostly experimental technologies that are being tested on very small scales," he said.
"We as a field don't have this great toolbox that people can use to attack these problems the same way you would attack an infestation of locusts or weevils or something attacking a crop on land," Anderson said. "We just aren't there the way agriculture is. That's what's frustrating."
Dinah Voyles Pulver covers climate change, wildlife and the environment for USA TODAY. Reach her at dpulver@usatoday.com or @dinahvp on Bluesky or X or dinahvp.77 on Signal.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Scientists fight toxic red tide blooms that terrorize beaches
