Researchers Release Red Dye into Altamaha River

Researchers from Georgia Southern University Set out on the Water Releasing a Fluorescent Red Dye Called "Rhodamine Wt" from the Altamaha River Sound, and Tracking it to See Where It Ends Up

Gleason said they're trying to establish whether or not there are connections between different waterways.

"We want people to know if they live in Atlanta or they live inland of Georgia and they release things into the environment, if they make it into the river systems, they could not only be impacting those river systems...they could have significant impacts all the way 20 to 30 miles offshore," he said.

The research team will monitor the dye for the first eight or nine hours by eye and then they'll rely on tools that will track it every minute for the next two weeks.

The research is funded by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary is providing the logistical support for the project.

This year local school teachers got to be involved too, making large floating devices called "drifters" which will also be tracked as they float along the river.

"We brought in teachers as a meaningful way to communicate the science that we are currently doing by bringing them in and having them become intimate with the research that we're doing they're able to bring it back to the classroom," Rath said.

And the teachers are excited to take part.

"We're trying to take this experience and spread it as far over the curriculum as we possibly can," said Kathleen Hobbs, a teacher at the STEM Academy in Savannah.

She said this is a way to get her students excited about various different topics in science.

Source: WTOC

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