Robots Watch out for Poisonous Plankton!
News story originally written on January 30, 2003

Picture of red tide taken from the NOAA Research Vessel Ron Brown Click on image for full size ( 62K JPG) Courtesy of NOAA

Tiny algae that float in the sea may look harmless but certain species are toxic and, in large numbers, they are able to kill fish, poison seafood and even choke swimmers. Now special underwater robots have been developed to look for the algal plankton and alert researchers when their numbers reach dangerous levels!

These types of algae are single-celled, microscopic and, like plants, photosynthesize. They are plankton, so most of their life is spent floating in ocean water. They cannot swim like fish, but instead float, being carried wherever the currents take them.

Most species of algae are very important for life in the sea because they are the start of food chains. Animals such as clams, fish and even whales could not survive without algae. However, a few types of algae contain chemicals that are toxic to other creatures. They are especially dangerous when they grow so fast that they darken the ocean water with a reddish cloud called a red tide.

Now researchers have developed underwater robots to patrol the Gulf of Mexico looking for an algae called Karenia brevis. The robots are called autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs. They look like small airplanes, about two-meters long, and glide underwater. After they glide down to the ocean floor, they are able to float to the surface, tell researchers in Florida where in the ocean they are located, and then begin to glide down again. The gliders carry sensors to detect the algae and record the salinity and temperature of seawater so that scientists can study when the tides form.

The researchers are able to survey larger areas of the ocean with the AUVs than they could before, watching for red tides year-round. They hope that with the information from their robots and satellite images, they will be able to alert people living near the coast if a giant cloud of algae is approaching their coastline.

Picture of red tide taken from the NOAA Research Vessel Ron Brown Click on image for full size ( 62K JPG) Courtesy of NOAA

Tiny plankton that live in the sea may look harmless but certain types are able to kill fish, poison seafood and even choke swimmers. Now robots have been developed to search the seas for the dangerous plankton!

Plankton spend most of their life floating in ocean water. They cannot swim like fish, but instead float wherever the currents take them. The harmful types of plankton are single-celled, microscopic creatures called algae that photosynthesize like plants.

Most types of algae are very important for life in the sea because they are food for animals like clams, fish and whales. However, a few types of algae have poisons within them that are harmful to other creatures. When the dangerous types of algae grow so fast that they darken the ocean water with a reddish cloud called a red tide, they are dangerous to animals that eat them. When people eat seafood that ate the poisonous algae, they get sick too.

Special underwater robots have been released into the Gulf of Mexico to look for dangerous algae. The robots are called autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs. They look like small airplanes that glide underwater. They carry sensors to detect algae and record salinity and temperature of the water so that scientists can study when the red tides form.

Researchers hope that with the information from their robots and satellite images, they will be able to warn people living near the coast if a giant cloud of algae is in the ocean near them.

Picture of red tide taken from the NOAA Research Vessel Ron Brown Click on image for full size ( 62K JPG) Courtesy of NOAA

Sometimes things that are very small can be very scary! Plankton that live in the sea are very small but some of them can be dangerous to people, fish and other animals. So, scientists have made robots to search the seas for the dangerous plankton!

Plankton float in the ocean and travel where the currents take them. There are many different types of plankton and only a few types are harmful. The harmful ones are special types of algae. Algae are small creatures with only one cell. They make their own food like plants do.

Most types of algae are very good. Animals like clams, fish and whales eat algae as food. But a few types of algae have poison in them and are not good for animals to eat. Sometimes the poisonous ones grow very fast and make a reddish cloud in the ocean water called a red tide. It is very important for people to not eat seafood that has the red tide poison in it.

Scientists have made special robots that travel around the oceans and look for poisonous algae. The scientists hope that the robots will help tell people who live near the ocean if there is a red tide coming.