Archived info

5 October 2006: There is respiratory irritation at Pt. Aransas. Winds are from the north. Dense blooms are evident on the north side of the north jetty. There were reports this afternoon from local sportsfishers of dead and dying drum along the north jetty in the ship channel.

6 October 2006 10:30 am. Cells counts are still high, and there is still respiratory irritation at UTMSI. TPWD reported a fresh fish kill on San Jose yesterday with dead hardheads numerous. There were also reports of large redfish floating in the channel. Wind and current conditions from the TABS buoy site suggest downcoast trasnport is likely along the coast, so the bloom is likely to move south. The MODIS color imagery for 5 Oct. 06 shows a dark water area north and east of the Pt. Aransas pass area. This is where the current bloom is according to our limited cell counts. If there are any sports fishers or work boats heading offshore in that area, I'd be happy to provide bottles for you to take a surface water sample. Send me an email or call 361-749-6732. archived MODIS for 6 October

10 October 2006 10:38 am. Cell counts this weekend at Port Aransas dropped several orders of magnitude. Although I have received reports of severe respiratory irritation this weekend, the bulk of the bloom appears to have moved to the south. Reports from TDH indicate 0 cells per ml from Matagorda ship Channel, Pass Cavallo and Pt. O'Connor. However, the Padre Island National Seashore (PINS) is reporting significant fish kills. Respiratory irritation started on Saturday. This mornings reported from PINS is that the most severe effects extend from the park's northern boundary to 10 mile south of Park Road 22. Some estimates indicate as many as 38,000 dead fish per mile. I don't know whether these are minnows or bull reds. However, there are probably lots of dead hardhead catfish, so if you are going that way, be mindful of your feet and your tires. It was pretty cloudy here yesterday, so the MODIS imagery here is from Sunday. The yellow squiggily line roughly outlines where I think the bloom was over the weekend.archived MODIS for 8 October

Historically, the blooms that start at Pt. Aransas or points north that we have good data for move from north to south along the coast. This bloom seems to be no exception. If it is like the others, it will move towards Pt. Isabel and either disappear along the way or eventually move south into Mexican waters. The key question is how it will react to the strong cold front expected on Thurs/Friday. If the front mixes the water on the continental shelf enough, it probably will just dissipate the bloom. Click here for a KUT (Austin) radio program on red tide

11 October 2006. 11:30 am. What a glorious day in Pt. A. Red tide counts at the jetties are still way down, and all evidence suggests the bloom is still moving south along the coast. The bays are presenting a more complicated picture. There are patches of red water in the UT boat basin, reports of intense discoloration from the public boat ramp at Pt. A, as well as reports from TDHHS (the agency formerly known as TDH) of 10's cells per ml in Aransas and Redfish Bay. It is not uncommon for red tide to get trapped in the bays and remain here long after the Gulf bloom has moved out of the area. The big cold front due here tomorrow will likely mix the water in the bay as well as bring some fresh water into the system. Since Karenia (it is not Prorocentrum as was reported by the major newspaper in our area) does not like salinity much below 23 parts per thousand (Gulf seawater is usually 34-36 parts per thousand), this is another optimistic hope that this will depart quickly.

The TPWD (Dave Buzan) body count of dead fish at Mustang Island State Park is showing an unusually diverse collection of fish. Drum, jacks, triple tails, spanish mackeral, snook, remoras, and groupers are among the casualties. Tony Amos of UTMSI reported dead amberjack in a number of places from San Jose. The MODIS imagery from yesterday is pretty cloudy, but the dark blob that is presumably the bloom is visible off the souther part of Mustang Island and extends south into the National Seashore. It may be as far south as the Land Cut, but I have heard no reports from the area.

16:00 update. Cell counts on the outgoing tide increased to over 700 cells per ml. This could reflect red tide that has gotten into the bays. Mark Fisher (TPWD) has sent around this link to the Bob Hall Pier webcam near Pt. Aransas. It showed what appeared to be streaks of red tide earlier today. This raises the possibility that there is more red tide lurking to the north of Pt. Aransas that is getting advected southward in the currents. Only time will tell.archived MODIS for 10 Oct.

12 October 2006. 10:30 am. Cell counts at Pt. A. are 88 cells per ml in the channel, so the worst part of the Gulf bloom is clearly south of us. The TPWD red tide bulletin noted a new fish kill on Mustang Island at marker 42. Meridith Byrd of TPWD emailed me this morning of respiratory irritation at the south Packery Channel jetty yesterday. There is no information yet about N. Padre Island and the National Seashore. The worst news is the report of stupendous concentrations (50,000 cells per ml!) at Cole Park in Corpus Christi Bay. This area of the waterfront in Corpus is a traditional hangout for bay blooms since the winds can push the bloom up against the shore and trap it. The marinas are also a favorite place for Karenia to accumulate. The lack of mixing probably accounts for much of this. Studies in Europe have noted similar problems with marinas in the Mediterranean.

The MODIS image was apparently taken the only time during the day when there were any clouds at all. The bloom area on Mustang Island can be seen, but it hard to interpret what is further south. The clouds are gathering today for a frontal passage this evening, so I do not expect any imagery until this weekend. The TABS buoys are showing winds from the SE and current flow upcoast (to the north). So, the bloom that is south of us may well move back into our area. 16:54 pm. The NOAA HAB bulletin is showing some peculiar features offshore. With any luck, we may get to sample them next week. Winds are supposed to be onshore during much of the weekend, so if there are indeed blooms offshore, we are likely to have more, not less red tide afterwards. Pt. A. channel counts are back in the hundreds per ml this afternoon on the outgoing tide. archived MODIS

13 October 2006. 10:30 am. Pt. A cell counts this morning were 114 cells per ml. MODIS images from yesterday are not very clear, so we just have the buoy data today. There is downcoast flow but not very intense yet. The winds are more northerly than expected yesterday so we may be spared the impact on the beaches that was forecast. I've heard of no reports of respiratory irritation yet today. The TPWD bulletin yesterday reported high levels of red tide along the Ocean Drive area of Corpus Christi and extending up to the Texas State Aquarium.

16:18 pm Cell counts remain high, 371 cells per ml. The winds have been blowing hard all day and will continue for the next few days. At least there is no word of respiratory irritation. The TPWD red tide bulletin (Meridith Byrd) reports no Karenia in Galveston. DSHS (Health Dept.) will start tissue sampling of oysters next week in preparation for the opening of oyster season.