sylens
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red tide
playas conalep and hermosa (southern part of ensenada) have been experiencing red tide for the better part of two weeks now. most likely el niño
related.
lili
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Bajagypsy
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What is the cause of a red tide, and why is there usually such a horrid smell with them?
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Taco de Baja
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Yea it can smell,
But it sure is pretty at night with the crashing waves, a rock thrown in the water, or running down the beach with green sparks dancing on the
sand....
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Bajagypsy
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My husband and I did that in Feb by mulege, but I was just wondering what caused it?
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sylens
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red tide: one explanation
http://bellnetweb.brc.tamus.edu/dinoflag.htm
lots of others if you google. for some reason, most of the websites talk about red tide on the florida and gulf (of mexico) coast. not as much on
the pacific coast...
the one here, btw, does not stink. not sure why not.
lili
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Cypress
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Red tide down along the northern Gulf of Mexico was called a "Jubilee". Any and all salt water critters that were able headed for the beach. The
terrestrial critters scooped 'em up as they arrived and had a feast.
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Hook
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Bajagypsy
What is the cause of a red tide, and why is there usually such a horrid smell with them? |
Typically a "red tide" is usually associated with an overabundance of phytoplankton that have a reddish tint to them. When conditions are optimum
(warmer water and increased light) they can reproduce in sufficient volume to turn large areas of water reddish. They are not necessarily dead
phytoplankton but the smell can be from a combination of the neurotoxins they release, the death in other life forms caused by these neurotoxins and
the actual death of large numbers of the phytoplankton as conditions for their continuance subsides.
Scientists have begun using the more correct term of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) instead of the lay term "red tide" which has very little to do with
tides.
I cant remember if there is an actual drop in the oxygen content of the water within a red tide that causes the death of other creatures and
themselves. I think it's just the neurotoxins.
ANY organism typically used for human consumption should be avoided in areas where red tides are present. The toxins can definitely pass through the
food chain.
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Cardon
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Here are a couple of pics I took of the red tide earlier this year at the south end of Conception Bay. At night it was stunningly beautiful. It got
windy and the white caps weren't white but neon blue. In the middle of the night and looked out over the ocean with my binoculars marveling at the
spectacle- I highly recommend doing that (when you have red tide and wind and a dark night). There are a few more photos on my website if you care to
look around on that site.
Here I took a stick and made patterns in the red tide.
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Bajagypsy
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Thanx for all the helpful info, I can now explaine it to my kids when they ask, and I agree, it is so beautiful at night
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pargo
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Hook, your explanation is right on. There is a significant oxygen depletion during a red tide. The combination of toxins and lack of oxygen lead to a
mass die off of many fish and shell fish which in turn leads to the death of other marine animals that feed upon the dead or dying.
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Paulina
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I've seen some nasty red tides in Bahia during the late summers. The water would resemble tomato soup, deep red and thick with dead fish. Their
bloated bodies would cover the beaches as well as stink up the top of the trailers. That mixed with the bird droppings made for some smelly days. To
get out to the boat you'd have to wade through the muck and then take the boat far, far out into the bay to get out of the soupy mess. One time our
neighbor raked up her beach, setting the piles of dead fish on fire adding to the stench.
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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frizkie
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Cardon
Craig you are SO SO creative.
Thanks for the photos.
Hope to see you in El Chorro this winter.. ..How's chances???
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Santiago
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Paulina
One time our neighbor raked up her beach, setting the piles of dead fish on fire adding to the stench. |
I presume this lets BB off the hook?
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Paulina
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Oh Santiago, you are such a card! Maybe if he'd have added a little fish
emulsion to the mixure it would have ignited faster???? 
I'm always in the mood to burry hatchets, wether their flaming or not, as long as I'm wearing my asbestos undies...:moon:
It's been awhile, hope to see you soon.
Your pal,
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Skipjack Joe
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More
Red tides are often caused by pollution. You see them often in inner harbors where waste is dumped. LA harbor seems to have a perpetual red tide.
Unlike phytoplankton which convert sunrays into organic matter dinoflagellates feed on organic matter itself. The oxygen depletion caused by these
blooms kill larger organisms and the resulting decay contributes to even greater concentrations of these dinoflagellates. The blooms seem to
eventually drop when wind and currents disperses the critters and drops their concentrations.
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QuePasaBaja
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Last year here in Rosarito the red tide hit hard, and for about 3 to 4 weeks. The water smelled, and there were a ton of dead fish on the beaches.
Have a Baja Day
QuePasaBaja
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aha baja
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Yea fish emulshion.... why didn't I think of that whats is
a BB
[Edited on 01-19-2004 by aha baja]
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bajaguy
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Libbie the "Wonder Dog" would just love rolling in those fish!!!!
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bajabound2005
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I do not think what we are having here is RED tide; it's brown and leaves a LOT of seaweed on the beach. There is no smell at all. I think it's just
a wierd tidal thing going with the equinox, etc. We have not been able to swirl sticks into the surf and make pretty colors, and the tide is far from
red. At high tide there is some brown sea weed in the surf....but I've seen a lot of dead birds on this beach (Punta Estero)... seagulls,
pelicans.....in the past couple days maybe 10 dead birds in 2 miles of beach?
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