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ESP for Red Tides

August 28, 2013

WHOI engineers Jeff Pietro and Will Ostrom (left to right) deployed a new robotic system from R/V Tioga off New Hampshire to monitor for red tide organisms. The ESP (environmental sample processor) canister in the bright yellow frame contains a compact molecular biology laboratory that can detect cells and toxins of harmful algal bloom (HAB) species and transmit data to shore in real time. Two successful deployments were completed in spring 2013, providing a continuous steam of data from April to early July, information used for ongoing HAB forecasting activities. As more ESPs and their mooring systems become available, the project, co-led by WHOI senior scientists Don Anderson and Dennis McGillicuddy, will include multiple ESP deployments scheduled for 2014 and 2015. (Photo by Ashley Cryan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)