A new device called an algae turf scrubber is being used to help clean the water in Baltimore's Inner Harbor.The device works by pumping polluted water into a shallow screened trough, and as the water ...

“Nature sometimes isn’t pretty,” said University of Maryland environmental scientist Peter May, grabbing a clump of slimy green-brown gunk. That gunk lines the bottom of what’s called an algal turf ...

In their quest to cure Baltimore’s ailing harbor, advocates and authorities have tried one gadget after another: floating wetlands, a solar-powered aerator, even a trash wheel. Add now the “algal turf ...

An article published in the June issue of BioScience describes the early scale-up stage of a new biotechnology with environmental benefits and possible commercial potential. Algal turf scrubbers are ...

The algal scrubber in action. Courtesy of Smithsonian Sidedoor Listen to this episode of Sidedoor, the Smithsonian podcast that explores behind-the-scenes stories from the Institution, for more ...