Greetings! My long-term readers may recall Dr. Geoffrey Norris whose shared 2017 writings on agriculture and glyphosate usage were extremely popular. Well, Dr Norris has returned from freezing cold Canada to tropical Hutchinson Island and has another work to share. He has written on a question many ask :”Red vs. Green Algae: What’s an Easy Way to Understand the Difference?” Please link below for yet another outstanding piece written for the everyday person, by our dear Canadian friend, Dr Geoffrey Norris.
florida red tides and blue green v.4 draft algal blooms q&a
Dear Jacqui
Happy New Year!
I am enclosing a discussion piece I have just completed entitled:
Florida Red Tides (Dinoflagellates) and Blue-Green Algal Blooms (Cyanobacteria): Questions and Answers for the Treasure Coast
It is attached as a pdf. It is quite long, and I have included an Executive Summary for those who might need it. It is abundantly illustrated, including a couple of aerial shots by you and Ed.
If you would be willing to include it in your website/blog I would be really happy. There is so much confusion about red tides and blooms, and hopefully this clarifies things a little.
All the best
Geoff Norris
Florida Red Tides (Dinoflagellates) and Blue-Green Algal Blooms (Cyanobacteria): Questions and Answers for the Treasure Coast
By Geoffrey Norris, PhD. Hutchinson Island, Martin County, Florida; 2019
Contact Dr Norris at: rosalex@interlog.com
introduction, EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This discussion centers on the issues of water quality in Florida’s lakes, waterways and coastal waters, as related to algal and bacterial blooms. It is written in plain language, in question and answer format, using as few technical terms as possible to help explain and clarify the various factors involved that lead to colored waters and toxic outbreaks in Florida’s lakes, estuaries and coastal waters.
Link here for PDF file full executive summary: florida red tides and blue green v.4 draft algal blooms q&a
Thank you Geoffrey Norris for this comprehensive explanation of what is happening in our waterways.
Easy to read and understand and hits all the points except how much the of the bacteria’s growth is aided by the super heated, artificially shallow, muck laden and s l o w moving waters that are our estuary.
An estuary is, by it’s very definition, “a transition zone between river environments and maritime environments”. We have, by not maintaining depth in our waters, removed the ‘transition’ and created the perfect environment for the Microcystis to thrive and multiply. (Haven’t you ever wondered why the lake water, although ugly never kills anyone yet after a few weeks in the lagoon is considered ‘lethal’?)
Dr Norris clearly states “”What about when Microcystis contacts salt water? Yes, this is a serious point. Microcystis is a freshwater organism, and cannot live in saltwater. “” … sort of answers the $64,000 question he later asks!
His answers, to his own questions, were simple, well explained and pointed out all the things that make our annual Christmas in July ( bad red and green pun) full of dread. We now are all aware what makes spores grow and thrive … so lets remove them!
We need to get the spore laden lake water, while it is still relatively innocuous, disbursed into the cool, dark, salty cure we call the ocean.
When I was a young boy I told my mother that it hurt every time I touched the stove. Her answer was always the same…. “Then don’t do that’!