Mote Marine tests red tide treatment project in Boca Grande
In an attempt to combat red tide, Mote Marine Laboratory of Sarasota is adapting its own system to treat water in small spaces.
The bizarre-looking contraption is a maze of PVC pipes and tanks. Red tide infected water is sucked up into the system and uses ozone to oxidize and destroy the re tide organism, Karenia brevis, before returning the water back to the body it came from.
Stephanie Kettle, spokeswoman for Mote, said the system does no release ozone into the water when it’s released.
According to a press release, two of the “Ozonators” were placed in a canal on Boca Grande from Tuesday to Friday. The two systems processed 300 gallons of water per minute.
Mote scientists are monitoring the water to assess the concentration of red tide and its toxins as well as nutrient levels, temperature, dissolved oxygen and pH to be sure the system is not adversely affecting any sensitive marine species, such as mysid shrimp.
It’s an adaptation of a system Mote has already patented: it uses a smaller version of the Ozonator to remove red tide and toxin from the water that comes into Mote’s aquarium and sea turtle hospital.
Dr. Richard Pierce, Senior Scientist and Program Manager for Ecotoxicology at Mote, explained the system in a video interview produced by Mote.
The system was first tested in a 25,000-gallon pool in June and did very well, he said. But moving it to a canal is a different issue.
“The natural system is very different than a swimming pool. You’ve got vegetation, silt on the bottom,” he said. “It’s an experiment, a test, and we will get information to see how we can go forward with this.”
Mote also has to be very careful to be sure ozone does not escape the system. Pierce said the chemical is used to treat water, but is very toxic on its own, so they can’t just “shoot ozone into the water.”
While the system isn’t something that could take on the Gulf of Mexico, it seemed to be doing well in a canal setting. Kettle said Mote’s researchers are “guardly optimistic” that it could provide relief for those who live along (and in) the canals affected by red tide.
The project is the result of a $100,000 anonymous donation challenge Mote received last year; Boca Grande matched the donation in early 2018.