Mote's Florida Red Tide Mitigation & Technology Development Facility
To fight the impacts of Florida red tide (blooms of Karenia brevis algae) effectively while causing no further environmental harm than red tide itself, scientists must test red tide mitigation compounds and technologies in the environment. Long before that, they must test them in the lab and then in large “mesocosm” or “raceway” tanks designed to provide a preview of the possible environmental impacts.
In 2020, Mote created this cutting-edge facility to do just that, as part of the Florida Red Tide Mitigation & Technology Development Initiative led by Mote in partnership with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
The Florida Red Tide Mitigation & Technology Development Facility, occupying 28,800 square feet of Mote’s existing campus space, can hold almost 150,000 gallons of treated and recirculated seawater. Its six labs include a culture room for growing algae, a chemistry lab, and large systems of long tanks called raceways and 5- or 10-foot mesocosms where scientists can create mini versions of Sarasota Bay, the Gulf of Mexico or other relevant environments by maintaining shellfish, seaweed, sponges, sediments and other ecosystem components that could be sensitive to mitigation efforts. Use of the facility and its unprecedented quantities of Karenia brevis culture are free for scientists from around the world whose projects are part of the Initiative.
Learn more about the Initiative, and on that page, reserve our mesocosms, raceways & culture.