he University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) has been awarded a $7.5 million grant from NOAA to lead an innovative US Harmful Algal Bloom Control Technology Incubator (US HAB-CTI) to advance innovative ways to control harmful algal blooms that are impacting the health of people and marine ecosystems, as well as regional economies.
he University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) has been awarded a $7.5 million grant from NOAA to lead an innovative US Harmful Algal Bloom Control Technology Incubator (US HAB-CTI) to advance innovative ways to control harmful algal blooms that are impacting the health of people and marine ecosystems, as well as regional economies. UMCES’ Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology in Baltimore, Maryland, will partner with the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium in Sarasota, Florida, to offer the first-of-its-kind center to solicit, fund, and assist the development of innovative harmful algal bloom control technology projects with commercial potential.
“Overall harmful algal blooms frequency has been increasing a tremendous amount over past five years due to climate change, increasing temperatures, and legacy nutrients,” said UMCES Professor Al Place.
Harmful algal blooms, such as red tide, cause a wide variety of environmental, economic, and human health problems. They occur when algae—simple photosynthetic organisms that live in the sea and freshwater—grow out of control while producing toxic or harmful effects on people, fish, shellfish, marine mammals, and birds. The growing frequency and magnitude of harmful algal blooms has created a pressing need for ways to control these blooms in coastal waters. As scientists, governments, and agencies have worked to assess approaches, there has been increasing need to incorporate environmental compliance, risk assessments, and other permitting in the decision-making process to use a control agent or approach.
Read more at: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
