# RCMI@Morgan: Center for Urban Health Disparities Research and Innovation

> **NIH NIH U54** · MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $112,083

## Abstract

Project summary: Golden tides are massive accumulations of floating brown seaweed in the
genus Sargassum that began affecting Caribbean, American, and African coasts in 2011.
Observations and models have concluded that these events are mainly driven by widespread
eutrophication and warmer sea surface temperatures in the Atlantic resulting from climate
change. A single golden tide can strand as much as 96,000 m3 of algae per Km of coastline
and affect large expanses of shoreline, often coinciding with the location of coastal
communities and highly frequented tourist destinations. Various health hazards may result
directly or indirectly from the accumulation of this algal biomass, including increased risk of
drowning, skin irritations from contact with algal mats, proliferation of biting flies from
beached algal biomass, and the production of harmful gases from algal decomposition. These
hazards disproportionately affect Hispanic- and Afro-Caribbean communities, representing
one of the least studied areas of health disparities. This research will focus on gas emissions
from decomposing algal accumulations, with the aim of quantifying risk of exposure to
hydrogen sulfide produced during these events in the US Virgin Islands. The study will use a
combination of decomposition chamber experiments to measure sulfide gas production and
direct field measurements of the gas in affected areas. It will also compare two available
techniques for measuring H2S to explore more user-friendly technologies that can be adopted
by Sargassum cleanup crews to monitor potential risks.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10671920
- **Project number:** 3U54MD013376-04S2
- **Recipient organization:** MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Valerie Odero-Marah
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $112,083
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2019-07-31 → 2024-02-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10671920

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10671920, RCMI@Morgan: Center for Urban Health Disparities Research and Innovation (3U54MD013376-04S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10671920. Licensed CC0.

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