{"id":39821,"date":"2025-06-25T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T12:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=39821"},"modified":"2025-10-06T16:11:31","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T20:11:31","slug":"from-hurricanes-to-floridas-red-tides-monitoring-the-southwest-gulf-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/from-hurricanes-to-floridas-red-tides-monitoring-the-southwest-gulf-coast.htm","title":{"rendered":"From Hurricanes to Florida\u2019s Red Tides: Monitoring the Southwest Gulf Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nearly every year, southwest Florida is blighted by harmful <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Karenia brevis <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">blooms\u2013known colloquially as Florida red tides.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These harmful algal blooms (HABs) form over the West Florida shelf and are pushed shorewards by winds and currents. Once in touching distance of the coast, they often intensify, fed by land-based runoff, anthropogenic nutrients, and decomposing marine life killed by toxins produced by these red tides.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Red tides have become <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1568988324000180\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">more severe and persistent<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> over the past 20 years, causing major environmental and economic damage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adam Catasus, Research and Education Coordinator at Vester Field Station for the Water School at Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU), uses NexSens technology to study HABs across southwest Florida, aiming to improve bloom detection and prediction.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_39822\" style=\"width: 950px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39822\" class=\"wp-image-39822 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7649_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"A dock-mounted real-time monitoring station that is used to collect data on red tides.\" width=\"940\" height=\"1043\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7649_ForWeb.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7649_ForWeb-270x300.jpg 270w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7649_ForWeb-600x666.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7649_ForWeb-768x852.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39822\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Testing complete, the newest station at the Mound House site is now fully deployed. (Credit: Credit: Adam Catasus)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">The Threat of Red Tides<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of the many algae species that cause HABs, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">K. brevis\u2013<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">responsible for Florida\u2019s red tides\u2013is particularly harmful. It produces brevetoxin, a neurotoxin that affects nerve tissues in both marine life and humans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These blooms cause massive fish kills, and the release of nutrients from decomposition drives a self-perpetuating cycle of nutrient availability.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In response, southwest Florida counties often issue swim advisories, restrict fishing, and even ban harvesting and consumption of seafood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Health effects in humans extend beyond direct contamination\u2013airborne toxins have triggered respiratory issues several kilometers inland, and one study reported up to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1568988324000180\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">3000% spike<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in healthcare visits during bloom events.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">The Goal of HAB Prediction<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Catasus took over the Vester Field Station, its equipment was over 20 years old. With red tides becoming an increasingly pressing issue in southwest Florida, he set out to install a modern monitoring network.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With funding from the Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SCOORA), Catasus established monitoring stations at two locations, including the Vester Field Station. Now, this has grown to incorporate five real-time monitoring stations.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Each station comprises a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nexsens.com\/products\/data-loggers\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NexSens X-Series data logger<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nexsens.com\/products\/accessories\/nexsens-sp-series-solar-power-packs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">solar panel<\/a>, battery pack, and a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/ysi-exo2-multi-parameter-water-quality-sonde.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">YSI EXO2<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> sonde. These are \u201cfully kitted out\u201d to measure water depth, conductivity, temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chlorophyll <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and dissolved organic matter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_39823\" style=\"width: 950px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39823\" class=\"wp-image-39823 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_DSC_1476_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"Two FGCU employees deploying a dock-mounted monitoring station. \" width=\"940\" height=\"982\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_DSC_1476_ForWeb.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_DSC_1476_ForWeb-287x300.jpg 287w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_DSC_1476_ForWeb-600x627.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_DSC_1476_ForWeb-768x802.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39823\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Deploying the NexSens system and equipment at the Gulf Star Marina site. (Credit: Adam Catasus)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Reacting to Data<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe main data that we really want to look at is chlorophyll and dissolved oxygen,\u201d Catasus explains, \u201cBecause those are usually good indicators of primary production.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If a bloom is identified, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/ysi-prosample-p-portable-samplers.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">YSI ProSample P Portable Samplers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are swiftly deployed to take physical samples every hour for 24 hours, which are then analyzed for a \u201cwhole slew\u201d of parameters.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWhat&#8217;s nice about the data loggers is that you can set up alerts,\u201d Adam says. A recent Masters student at FGCU worked on setting alarms that triggered \u201cwhen chlorophyll was high enough to require response\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, discerning a true signature from interference caused by biofouling\u2013something the team tackles with regular on-site maintenance and cleaning\u2013and marine critters is not entirely straightforward.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With better data on whether blooms are imminent, forecasting can help improve management and preparation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For instance, managed discharges from the Caloosahatchee River and Lake Okeechobee in southwest Florida bring <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S1568988324001628\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">nitrogen loads that intensify and prolong blooms<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. With better forecasting and understanding of the processes driving these blooms, such discharges could be withheld.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_39825\" style=\"width: 950px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39825\" class=\"wp-image-39825 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Good-Side-View_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"A real-time continuous monitoring station deployed at the New Pass site. This station collects water quality data in order to predict red tides.\" width=\"940\" height=\"940\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Good-Side-View_ForWeb.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Good-Side-View_ForWeb-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Good-Side-View_ForWeb-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Good-Side-View_ForWeb-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Good-Side-View_ForWeb-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39825\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">The system deployed at the New Pass site. (Credit: Adam Catasus)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">More Uses for Data<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With readings taken every 10 minutes, data collected from this network is also used as a teaching resource for FGCU students, with graduates and undergraduates making use of this \u201cgiant data set.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catasus highlights, \u201cWe\u2019ve been getting a lot of our undergraduate and graduate students more familiar working with big data analyses, finding out the best way to make figures and graphical products that can then be used for explaining why this data matters.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Also under development is a library of preserved phytoplankton that can be shared between research groups in the southeast and the Gulf. Data on which phytoplankton are present at each monitoring station, alongside nutrient concentrations, could give an insight into the factors driving HABs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data can also be <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wqdatalive.com\/public\/1348\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">accessed by the public via the WQ Data LIVE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> platform.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catasus explains that this has frequently been used by local news companies for storm surge and flooding reports. \u201cIt was pretty cool that our WQ Data LIVE page was live during <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/hurricane-prediction-and-monitoring-in-the-age-of-climate-change.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hurricane Milton<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on TV broadcast.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_39826\" style=\"width: 950px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39826\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39826\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7639_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"The \u201cmounting strength test.\u201d Catasus uses his body weight to test the strength of deployment materials to ensure systems can remain operational in all conditions, including through hurricanes during the installation of the Mound House site, the newest real-time measurement station.\" width=\"940\" height=\"940\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7639_ForWeb.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7639_ForWeb-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7639_ForWeb-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7639_ForWeb-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7639_ForWeb-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39826\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">The \u201cmounting strength test.\u201d Catasus uses his body weight to test the strength of deployment materials to ensure systems can remain operational in all conditions, including through hurricanes during the installation of the Mound House site, the newest real-time measurement station. (Credit: Adam Catasus)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><b>Hurricanes<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Historic data from hurricanes is hard to come by, but Catasus and his team might be changing that.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cWe pride ourselves in building obnoxiously strong systems that can sustain drastic flooding,\u201d Catasus remarks. \u201cThey have to survive hurricanes\u2013we don\u2019t take anything out because we want to capture all the data.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During Hurricane Ian, one system was entirely covered by approximately 4m of floodwater. Even so, \u201cit did not miss a single data point.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, during Hurricane Milton, sensors were once again covered by floodwater. Fearing the worst when live data stopped streaming, Catasus hoped it hadn\u2019t been hit by debris and washed away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Three hours later, though, \u201cit started streaming again [&#8230;] as soon as the water got low enough, it started streaming. It captured all the data while it was underwater. These things are crazy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data collected during extreme events is being used to support modelling. \u201cOur data was extremely useful for this past hurricane season, looking at the flooding and what&#8217;s happening at people&#8217;s houses, because a lot of our stations are in areas where a lot of people live,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_39824\" style=\"width: 950px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39824\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39824\" src=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Storm-Surge-10.10.2024_ForWeb.jpg\" alt=\"Water depth data from the four stations operational during hurricanes Helene and Milton, which hit Florida within a fortnight of each other, at the end of September 2024. \" width=\"940\" height=\"627\" srcset=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Storm-Surge-10.10.2024_ForWeb.jpg 940w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Storm-Surge-10.10.2024_ForWeb-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Storm-Surge-10.10.2024_ForWeb-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_Storm-Surge-10.10.2024_ForWeb-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-39824\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span style=\"color: #808080;\">Water depth data from the four stations operational during hurricanes Helene and Milton, which hit Florida within a fortnight of each other, at the end of September 2024. (Credit: Adam Catasus)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\">The Future<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are plans to add weather stations at all five sites shortly, and ambitions to expand the network to include a sixth, more southerly monitoring station in Collier County.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For Catasus, \u201cthe ultimate goal is just to keep these stations going indefinitely. And then slowly expand and build our networks, especially throughout all of southwest Florida.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Florida Keys have also been noted as a future location, particularly given recent spinning fish behaviour that has been tentatively linked to HABs.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catasus also hopes research can \u201cmove further offshore\u201d along the shallow West Florida Shelf. By the current hypothesis, this is where Florida red tides begin\u2013their growth jump-started by upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water from the Gulf basin depths.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Excited about the possible prospects of a buoy network and the data it could provide, Catasus has a number of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nexsens.com\/products\/data-buoys\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NexSens buoys<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that he hopes can be deployed alongside Sofar Spotter Buoys, although he confesses he\u2019s still working through the intricacies of \u201chow to deploy [a buoy] 80-100 miles offshore and make sure it survives major category five hurricanes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"color: #808080;\"><b>Supporting Communities<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real-time forecasting of Florida red tides offers major ecological, public health, and economic benefits. However, without timely data, reliable forecasts, and rapid responses\u2014such as\u00a0 shellfish harvest closures or cleanup operations\u2014aren\u2019t possible.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Insights from monitoring <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">K. brevis<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> along Florida\u2019s coast could also help manage HABs elsewhere.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Catasus emphasizes the role of science in supporting communities, \u201cWhat\u2019s the best way to support our local community? Answering their environmental questions, aligning with their goals, and exploring how technology can help.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nearly every year, southwest Florida is blighted by harmful Karenia brevis blooms\u2013known colloquially as Florida red tides.\u00a0 These harmful algal blooms (HABs) form over the West Florida shelf and are pushed shorewards by winds and currents. Once in touching distance of the coast, they often intensify, fed by land-based runoff, anthropogenic nutrients, and decomposing marine [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":39822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,5,7,8,44,510],"tags":[158,2043,1177,1543,316,2538,567,1216,655,1544],"class_list":["post-39821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-estuaries-wetlands","category-featured-articles","category-news","category-newsfeed","category-oceans-coasts","category-water-quality","tag-chlorophyll","tag-florida-gulf-coast-university","tag-habs","tag-harmful-algal-blooms","tag-hurricane","tag-hurricane-monitoring","tag-real-time","tag-real-time-data","tag-real-time-monitoring","tag-red-tide"],"remote_post_permalink":false,"remote_post_featured_image":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>From Hurricanes to Florida\u2019s Red Tides: Monitoring the Southwest Gulf Coast<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Real-time monitoring of red tides aids prediction, public safety and supports research, and relies on super-rugged monitoring systems.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/from-hurricanes-to-floridas-red-tides-monitoring-the-southwest-gulf-coast.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"From Hurricanes to Florida\u2019s Red Tides: Monitoring the Southwest Gulf Coast\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Real-time monitoring of red tides aids prediction, public safety and supports research, and relies on super-rugged monitoring systems.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/from-hurricanes-to-floridas-red-tides-monitoring-the-southwest-gulf-coast.htm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Environmental Monitor\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-25T12:00:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-06T20:11:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.fondriest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/FGCU_IMG_7649_ForWeb.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"940\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1043\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stephanie Andrews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Stephanie Andrews\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/from-hurricanes-to-floridas-red-tides-monitoring-the-southwest-gulf-coast.htm#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/from-hurricanes-to-floridas-red-tides-monitoring-the-southwest-gulf-coast.htm\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Stephanie Andrews\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b966bab5259403392efd1a3a06a1d62a\"},\"headline\":\"From Hurricanes to Florida\u2019s Red Tides: Monitoring the Southwest Gulf Coast\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-25T12:00:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-10-06T20:11:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/from-hurricanes-to-floridas-red-tides-monitoring-the-southwest-gulf-coast.htm\"},\"wordCount\":1305,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.fondriest.com\\\/news\\\/from-hurricanes-to-floridas-red-tides-monitoring-the-southwest-gulf-coast.htm#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.fondriest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2025\\\/06\\\/FGCU_IMG_7649_ForWeb.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"chlorophyll\",\"Florida Gulf Coast University\",\"HABs\",\"harmful algal blooms\",\"hurricane\",\"hurricane monitoring\",\"real-time\",\"real-time data\",\"real-time monitoring\",\"red tide\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Estuaries &amp; 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