Florida is dealing with a toxic red tide that is greatly impacting the Gulf Coast, and researchers are trying to figure out why.
Scientists are investigating whether the phenomenon is getting worse due to man-made pollutants spilling into the ocean from inland water ways like Lake Okeechobee.
"We are looking for signature types of nitrogen, like those in the lake, to see if they scoot right through and into the Gulf, where the red tide is," said Florida Gulf Coast University environmental science professor Bill Mitsch, director of Everglades Wetlands Research Park, according to a report by NBC6.
If that's the case, it would likely reinvigorate calls for greater regulation of agricultural runoff from crops in South Florida.