Dr. P.V. Sundareshwar, state carbon scientist and associate professor of atmospheric sciences at SDSM&T, was recently awarded the highest honor bestowed on a civilian by the Chilean senate. The Congreso Nacional Senado medal of the Government of Chile was presented by senior Senator Honorable Antonio Horvath Kiss. The award is in recognition of efforts to help establish a biosecurity program in Chile to mitigate invasive threats from organisms such as the Didymosphenia geminata. This alga, that has caused troublesome blooms in our own Rapid Creek of the Black Hills, was recently discovered in Chile.

Dr. Sundareshwar spent several weeks in Chile during the summer and fall of 2010 researching the blooms of Didymosphenia geminata (didymo), which is severely affecting the rivers in several regions of Chile, rivers that are highly prized for their fishing and rafting opportunities. He was consequently invited by Senator Horvath to help organize and attend an international workshop in Puerto Varas to discuss how to prevent or limit the spread of didymo to other water bodies in Chile. This workshop is the basis for future training and empowerment programs in Chile and other risk areas. Plans are underway to create a Biosafety Authority that will be able to further monitor this diatom, and others like it, and to create preventive measures in order to safeguard the natural resources of the country.

Didymo, while native to Northern Europe and Northern North America, has dramatically expanded its range forming massive blooms in many clean, temperate rivers across North America. Since its first discovery in New Zealand in 2004, it has spread to almost 32 watersheds affecting 80% of the waterways in the South Island, generating serious economic, social, and environmental damage. Dr. Sundareshwar and several of his students and colleagues are conducting research on the ecology and management of the invasive Didymo blooms that have been observed in Rapid Creek since 2002.