Image : Researchers Report Potential for "Moderately Large" Red Tide Outbreak in the Gulf of Maine Region for 2009

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 algae responsible for producing a toxin that accumulates in clams, mussels, and other shellfish and can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) in humans who consume them. The team will analyze the samples to determine the abundance of Alexandrium and, with the help of computer models that simulate different scenarios of weather and oceanographic conditions, build a picture of where and in what abundance the toxic cells might be expected in 2009. (Photo by Amy Lloyd-Rippe)

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Last updated: January 22, 2013