Blog Post Image: Researchers Issue Forecast for ‘Moderate’ New England Red Tide in 2013

WHOI researcher Bruce Keafer, right, and colleagues prepare a corer to collect sediment samples from the seafloor. They are part of a survey team assembling a regional distribution map of Alexandrium cysts — the “seeds” or dormant cells of the algae responsible for producing the PSP toxin. The team will analyze the samples to determine the abundance of Alexandrium cysts and, with the help of computer models that simulate different scenarios of weather and oceanographic conditions, develop a forecast of the overall regional abundance of toxic cells expected in 2013. (Photo by Amy Lloyd-Rippe)