For Immediate Release: Media Availability for New Sanibel Red Tide Respiratory Tuesday Oct 29

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For Immediate Release: 10-25-19

Media Contact: Nadine Slimak 239.339.7914 nadine@vettedcommunications.com

Media Availability: New Red Tide Respiratory Forecasts Now Available for Sanibel Island

What:

A Red Tide Respiratory Forecast, initially implemented in Pinellas County in 2018, is being expanded to 3 beaches on Sanibel Island.
The forecast will help Sanibel Island residents and visitors — especially those who have asthma and other chronic lung diseases — assess the best day and time to visit the beach.
The forecast will typically be available online on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
It is made possible, in-part, by a newly developed portable microscope system, called a HABScope, that uses video and artificial intelligence (AI) to quickly analyze water samples for near real-time cell counts of Karenia brevis, the marine organism that causes Florida red tides.
Development of the forecast was supported by a grant from NASA's Applied Science Program through the Health and Air Quality Program.

Interview Time/Location:

10:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the parking lot of Lighthouse Beach, Sanibel Island
RSVP to Nadine Slimak

Interviews & B-Roll:

Members of the media will be able to interview the scientists who developed the Red Tide Respiratory Forecast as well as those who are helping to expand it to Sanibel Island.
Media will also be able to gather b-roll of someone collecting a water sample and using HABscope to analyze it.

Who will be Available:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) — Dr. Richard Stumpf, Oceanographer, NOAA-National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), who led the development of the new forecast tool.
Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) — Dr. Barbara Kirkpatrick, Executive Director and environmental health scientist who conducted the first red tide human health studies. GCOOS hosts the respiratory forecast website.
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) — Dr. Eric Milbrandt, Marine Lab Director, and Dr. Rick Bartleson, Research Scientist. SCCF has long-partnered with NOAA and GCOOS on red tide research and forecasting and it will coordinate the collection of water samples needed to develop the Red Tide Respiratory Forecast.
Sanibel Sea School — Kealy McNeal, Marine Educator and Red Tide Sampling Coordinator. The School has also been a long-time partner on red tide research and forecasting efforts and will also be collecting water samples needed to develop the Forecast.
City of Sanibel — Holly Milbrandt, Public Information Officer

HABscope

The Red Tide Respiratory Forecast Expands to 3 Sanibel Beaches

About GCOOS

The Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System Regional Association is a 501(c)3 organization responsible for developing a network of business leaders, marine scientists, resource managers, non-governmental organizations and other stakeholder groups that combine their data to provide timely information about our oceans — similar to the information gathered by the National Weather Service to develop weather forecasts. Our members and data providers come from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida.

It is the only NOAA-certified observing organization focused solely on the Gulf of Mexico.

GCOOS is the Gulf of Mexico regional component of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). We are the heart of data collection for the ocean and coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico — collecting thousands of data points from sensors and ensuring the data are reliable, timely, accurate and available to all who need it.

GCOOS | GCOOS.org