URI to Host Lecture on Toxic Algal Bloom in Narragansett Bay

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URI to Host Lecture on Toxic Algal Bloom in Narragansett Bay

The University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography will host a lecture on how Rhode Island Sound could be linked to toxic algal bloom in the Narragansett Bay.

The lecture will take place on Tuesday, April 16 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Coastal Institute Auditorium at the University of Rhode Island’s Bay Campus in Narragansett.

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Algal Bloom

In 2016 An unprecedented toxic algal bloom from Long Island to Maine led to the first-ever shellfishing ban in Narragansett Bay.

Since the 2016 bloom was concentrated in the mid- and lower bay one theory is that nutrients, such as nitrogen, are being funneled into the bay that can trigger algal blooms.

“One of the important things missing is the water coming in from the shelf. There’s a deep pool of nitrogen [offshore] in the bottom water in the summer,” said Dr. Christopher Kincaid, a GSO researcher who specializes in circulation dynamics.

Monitoring stations have also been set up near the mouth of the bay by Dr. Lucie Maranda and her colleagues to test for the presence of the algal species that produce the neurotoxin, domoic acid, and how much, if any, is present.


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