Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) Cooperative Matching Funds Projects
New projects from coast to coast will advance the research on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The vivid emerald-colored algal blooms are caused by cyanobacteria, which can produce cyanotoxins that threaten human health and aquatic ecosystems and can cause major economic damage.
In Fiscal Years 2019 through 2023, Congress provided the USGS National Water Quality Program (NWQP) with additional resources to assess HABs. The NWQP has funded 55 projects in 19 States and Puerto Rico from 2019 through 2023 that advance real-time monitoring, remote sensing, and use of molecular techniques to identify and predict the occurrence of HABs and the toxins they produce. These new approaches will provide information that can act as an “early warning” of HABs, assist water-treatment plant operators in decision making, and build our knowledge of the cyanobacterial communities that cause HABs and the cyanotoxins produced. All projects are conducted jointly with state, regional, tribal, and (or) local partners.
Geographic areas with projects selected for funding
- California
5 projects, 2019-2025 - Colorado
2 projects, 2022-24 - Idaho
2 projects, 2019-20, 2022-24 - Illinois
1 project, 2021-2023 - Kansas
3 projects, 2020-22, 2021-23, 2023-25 - Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia
2 projects, 2019-21, 2022-24 - Michigan
2 projects, 2020-22 - Minnesota
1 project, 2019-23 - Missouri
1 project, 2023-25 - North Dakota
1 project, 2022-24 - New England
1 project, 2019-21 - New Jersey
3 projects, 2020-24 - New York
13 projects, 2019-24 - Ohio
5 projects, 2019-23 - Oregon
4 projects, 2019-21, 2023-25 - Puerto Rico
1 project, 2023 - Tennessee
1 project, 2022-24 - Texas
2 projects, 2019-21, 2022-24 - Virginia
2 projects, 2023-25 - Wisconsin
4 projects, 2021-25
California
Rapid Response to a Heterosigma Bloom in the San Francisco Bay Estuary (funded in 2023).
Study Area: San Francisco Bay Estuary
Contact: Tamara Kraus
In mid-August 2022, scientists from the USGS California Water Science Center observed a large algal bloom in San Francisco Bay dominated by the harmful algae Heterosigma akashiwo, associated with “red tide" The USGS documented the bloom becoming more widespread by late August, at which point the USGS, other agencies, and citizens observed widespread fish kills, including of endangered species. Throughout the HAB event, USGS scientists mobilized resources to collect data to monitor the bloom, understand why it was occurring, and identify ecosystem impacts.
Managing HABs in California's Delta: Real-time Detection using Newly Developed Sensors (funded in 2021).
Study Area: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, San Francisco Bay Delta
Contact: Brian Bergamaschi
This study will develop new sensors to measure cyanobacterial bloom density for real-time harmful algal bloom (HAB) assessments. The underwater sensors will calculate bloom density using optical image analysis and cyanobacterial spectral signatures. An “internet of things” data processing pipeline will be developed that can assimilate data from sensors, apply calculations, and transmit a compact data stream of results. These sensors will improve the suite of in situ tools that can be used to track changing HAB conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Real-time HABS detection in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta (funded in 2021)
Study Area: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Contact: Angela Hansen, Tamara Kraus
This study will develop custom sensors for early detection of Harmful algal blooms. Custom sensor arrays collect 3 measurements: optical camera, high resolution spectroradiometer, high frequency fluorometer. The goal of this study is to improve detection probabilities of large cells and aggregates, reducing bias from particle-size differences.
Mapping Cyanotoxin Concentrations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California (funded in 2020).
Study Area: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Contact: Angela Hansen, Tamara Kraus
This study will add cyanotoxin measurement to other water-quality data collected during boat-based mapping surveys. Cyanotoxins will be measured by passing water through SPATT (Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking) samplers and by collecting water samples to measure toxins at specific locations and times. The broad spatial coverage will help improve our understanding of relations between cyanotoxin production, transport, and drivers such as water temperature, nutrients, and light availability.
Fixed Station Cyanotoxins in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (funded in 2020).
Study Area: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Contact: Angela Hansen, Tamara Kraus
This study adds cyanotoxin measurements – using both SPATT (Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking) and whole water sampling approaches – to several monitoring stations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a critical tidal aquatic habitat and drinking-water resource. These stations are equipped with sensors that measure flow, physico-chemical properties, nitrate, phytoplankton abundance and phytoplankton composition. The addition of cyanotoxin data to these stations will provide insight into drivers, sources, and transport of HABs and associated cyanotoxins.
Colorado
Three Lakes Clarity - Associated with Colorado River Big Thompson Project (funded in 2022)
Study Area: Upper Colorado River Basin, Grand Lake
Contact: Tanner Chapin
The USGS currently collects ancillary data for chlorophyll on Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain Reservoir, Lake Granby, Willow Creek Reservoir, and Windy Gap Reservoir. The USGS also operates a 6-parameter water quality sonde (water temperature, specific conductance, pH, turbidity, chlorophyll RFU, and fPC RFU) in the channel connecting Grand Lake and Shadow Mountain Reservoir. This project will add fluorescence of chlorophyll and phycocyanin to all lake profile data on the 5 reservoirs currently sampled and include additional chlorophyll samples.
High frequency water-quality sampling platform for HABs studies (funded in 2022)
Study Area: Blue Mesa Reservoir, Gunnison River Basin Curecanti National Recreation Area
Contact: Katie Walton-Day
The primary goal of this project is to collect high-frequency lake-profile, nutrient, and algae data to detect onset and evolution of HABs in Blue Mesa Reservoir. A secondary goal is to examine the data for water-quality trends and limnological conditions that (1) indicate onset of HABs, (2) support continuation of HABs, and (3) promote dissipation of HABs. Finally, the data may aid validation of remote sensing efforts in Blue Mesa Reservoir. If successful, the high-frequency data are a technological improvement over discrete water-quality samples and may improve our ability to detect and understand water-quality conditions before, during, and after HABs.
Idaho
Hypercube: Characterizing harmful algal blooms and aquatic macrophytes in Idaho water bodies using a multiplatform, multiscalar remote sensing approach (funded in 2022)
Study Area: Snake River, Kootenay River, Spokane River, Lake Coeur d’Alene, Brownlee Reservoir, Lake Cascade, and other lakes and rivers throughout Idaho
Contact: Stephen Hundt
This study seeks to overcome the obstacles associated with traditional multispectral sensors by using: 1) hyperspectral imagery to distinguish between toxigenic algae, benign algae, and macrophytes 2) hyper-spatial imagery to extend remote sensing approaches from lakes and reservoirs to river channels and 3 ) high-frequency satellite observations from the PlanetScope constellation to examine the onset and evolution of algal blooms and macrophyte infestations.
Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 Algal Indices Delivery System for Idaho (funded in 2019)
Study area: Various lakes throughout Idaho
Contact: Tyler King
This project aims to provide water-resource managers with high-spatial resolution data suitable for detecting algal blooms in the large rivers and small and mid-sized lakes throughout Idaho. The data, from high-resolution Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 satellite images, will include algal and chlorophyll-a detection indices suitable for operational use. The high-resolution images will enable detection of potential HABs occurrence for many new water bodies and will add greater detail to identification of spatial occurrence of blooms in larger lakes.
Illinois
Hydrodynamic and Temperature Model Investigation of Illinois River HABs (funded in 2021).
Study area: Upper Illinois River
Contact: Paul Rydlund
The purpose of this study is to develop a hydrodynamic and temperature model of a 20-mile reach of the Upper Illinois River known to experience harmful algal blooms (HABs). The model will be two-dimensional in the vertical and longitudinal directions. Real-time flow and temperature data will be used to help develop and calibrate the model. Water balance, hydrodynamics, and temperature will be calibrated sequentially. Model results will indicate the role of hydrodynamics and temperature in HABs formation between Seneca, IL, and Starved Rock State Park.
Kansas
Connecting potentially toxic cyanobacteria bloom initiation in slowmoving streams, wetlands, and oxbows and subsequent movement to hydrologically connected reservoirs and large rivers (funded in 2023).
Study area: Milford and Perry Lake headwater areas and the floodplain of the Lower Kansas River
Contact: Ariele Kramer
This study seeks to (1) quantify the transport of potential cyanoHABs from wetlands and slow-moving tributaries to Milford Lake, Kansas in relation to weather (air temperature, wind-speed, and precipitation/runoff conditions) and biological latency (e.g. periods between condition and biological growth, succession, toxin production), (2) Determine the spatial and temporal transport of toxic bloom events in wetlands as a function of management actions. (3) Rene ground to space verification sampling methods to characterize intra- and interpixel variability for CyAN, LandSat and/or Sentinel 2.
Cyanobacteria Bloom Initiation in Slow Moving Streams (funded in 2021).
Study area: Milford and Perry Lake headwater areas and the floodplain of the Lower Kansas River
Contact: Brian Kelly
HAB development in slow-moving streams, wetlands, and oxbows and their relation to blooms in downstream reservoirs and rivers is largely unknown. This study will measure the hydrologic, water-quality, sediment, biological, meteorological, temporal, and spatial relations of HABs in headwater areas above Milford and Perry Lakes and the floodplain of the lower Kansas River, to receiving reservoirs or rivers. Study results will be used to help manage HABs and to better understand HAB occurrence in Kansas.
Field Verification of Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) Satellite Products to Estimate Nearshore Toxic Cyanobacteria Bloom Accumulation in Kansas Lakes and Reservoirs (funded in 2020).
Study area: Various lakes in Kansas, South Dakota, Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ohio
Contact: Brian Kelly
This study will collect critical field data from HAB-impacted reservoirs to validate satellite algorithms and metrics for detecting and quantifying potentially toxic HABs. The validation will improve the use of CyAN as a nationwide early-warning indicator for HABs and algal toxins in freshwater. The study will collect hydrologic, water-quality, biologic, meteorologic, and hyperspectral data during satellite overflights to verify satellite data from HAB-impacted reservoirs and implement uniform methodology for using innovative technology.
Maryland, Delaware, and Washington D.C.
Development of extended chlorophyll-a time series using in-situ and remotely sensed training data for application to inland and coastal waters (funded in 2022).
Study area: Delaware River Basin
Contact: Kendall Wnuk
This study aims to (1) enhance current abilities to remotely sense inland and coastal chlorophyll-a and (2) extend the historic record of satellite-based chlorophyll estimates.
Application of Landsat Data to Map Cyanobacterial Blooms in the Delaware River Basin (funded in 2019).
Study area: Delaware River Basin
Contact: Mark Nardi
This project will map the occurrence and distribution of cyanobacterial blooms from 2000 to present in the Delaware River Basin, providing a detailed picture of HAB occurrence in time and space. The mapping will be based on existing Landsat (satellite) data and in-situ water samples, and the resulting digital maps can be used by predictive models as input or for calibration and validation.
Michigan
Ramping up Realtime HABs Monitoring in Michigan (funded in 2020).
Study area: various waterbodies in Michigan.
Contact: Amanda Bell
The State of Michigan has selected key waterbodies for investigation of harmful algal blooms (HABs). For this study, USGS will work with Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to enhance current monitoring with additional sampling and incorporation of real-time sensor and satellite technologies. The objectives are to validate remote sensing data from the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) application and to use real-time sensor data to advance capabilities for HAB prediction.
Minnesota
Beyond Microcystin (funded in 2019).
Study area: Select river basins in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota
Contact: Victoria Christensen
Many cyanotoxins other than microcystin are present in HABs—this study will use Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) technology and phycocyanin sensors within and outside wilderness areas such as Voyageurs National Park, Pipestone National Monument, and St. Croix Scenic Riverway to detect as many as 32 cyanotoxins. The results will shed light on the effect of differences in geography and setting on cyanobacteria and toxin production.
Missouri
Assessment of HABs on Mozingo Lake, Missouri (funded in 2023).
Study area: Mozingo Lake, Missouri
Contact: Heather Krempa
The objective of this study is to improve the understanding of the conditions triggering and controlling the occurrence, timing, magnitude, and toxicity of HABs and improve predication ability by relating parameters that can be monitored continuous and satellite imagery with algal species, chlorophyll, phycocyanin, and cyanotoxin data at Mozingo Lake, Missouri. Algal community shifts will be compared to changes in environmental factors to better understand the conditions triggering and controlling HABs. A continuous water-quality monitor will be installed within the lake to monitor conditions that may advance real-time monitoring of algae concentrations and provide advanced warning of potential HABs.
New England (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island)
Evaluating Environmental DNA Lake Assessments (funded in 2019).
Study area: Cape Cod, Lake Champlain, and Central Maine
Contact: Charles W. Culbertson
New molecular genetic techniques for sensitive detection of cyanobacteria will be applied to New England lakes and glacial kettle ponds on Cape Cod. Time-series analysis will be used to identify conditions leading to HAB development, including changes in the microbial community structure, and the time involved. The outcome of this project will provide resource managers and stakeholders a robust tool for the early detection of cyanobacteria associated with HAB formation and the presence of genes responsible for cyanotoxin production.
New Jersey
Analyses to Further Evaluate and Interpret Novel Approaches to Monitor Downstream Transport of Harmful Algal Blooms and Associated Cyanotoxins in a Coastal New Jersey System (funded in 2023).
Study area: Deal Lake Watershed, Monmouth County
Contact: Heather Heckathorn
This study builds on another study that is evaluating Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) samplers to: 1) Synthesize data from multiple sources, identify key data gaps crucial to understanding the fate and transport of cyanotoxins in coastal systems and identify the potential factors that contribute to the proliferation of HABs in a coastal environment 2) Enhance coastal HABs project by collecting additional data to strategically fill data gaps before blooms develop and during bloom conditions. 3) Evaluate changing water-quality and biological conditions that influence cyanotoxin production and transport between HAB-impacted freshwater sources to downstream marine locations.
Application of novel approaches to monitor harmful algal blooms and fecal indicator bacteria in a coastal system (funded in 2022).
Study area: Deal Lake Watershed, Monmouth County
Contact: Heather Heckathorn; Anna Boetsma
This study has several goals: (1) Assess the transport of cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins, and fecal indicator bacteria from freshwater to marine systems to determine if water-quality indicators in coastal lakes can be detected in the ocean near outfalls, (2) Evaluate a fluorometer to assess near-real-time conditions of fecal indicator bacteria and compare results with traditional monitoring techniques that are labor intensive and require 18-24 hours for results, and (3) Evaluate low-cost passive, time-integrated Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) samplers to capture ephemeral events and transfers from freshwater to marine environments, which can be missed by traditional approaches.
Downstream Fate and Transport of Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins in the Raritan River Basin, New Jersey (funded in 2020).
Study area: Raritan River Basin, New Jersey
Contact: Pamela Reilly
This study evaluates the downstream fate and transport of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins from headwater lakes and reservoirs to drinking water intakes within the Raritan River Water Supply Complex. A combination of passive samplers, periodic water-quality samples, and continuous monitoring will be used to investigate effects of rapid changes in water-quality conditions on cyanotoxin production and transport. The data collected will serve as a baseline to measure any future regulatory or mitigation actions to improve water quality.
New York
Data synthesis and experimentation to improve the use of passive samplers for cyanotoxin monitoring (funded in 2023).
Study area: National Parks, Finger Lakes, Clackamas River, San Francisco Bay Estuary, Raritan River, Salem River, and numerous locations throughout the Upper Midwest.
Contact: Jennifer Graham
The goals of this project are to: 1) Synthesize and evaluate the current approaches and knowledge gained from current Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) studies, including sampler construction, field deployment and retrieval, cyanotoxin extraction, data analysis and interpretation, and quality assurance. 2) Conduct experiments that fill key knowledge gaps about SPATT deployments and methods. 3) Establish general guidance for USGS projects to make the technology more accessible, comparable, and allow for comparisons across study areas.
Field imaging and AI identification of HAB species (funded 2022).
Study area: New York State and other locations around the US
Contact: Elizabeth Nystrom
The goal of this project is to develop field-deployable instrumentation for identification of HAB species of concern by building and testing a prototype low-cost imaging system using commercially available components and artificial intelligence processing. The systems would be for use in freshwater and trained to recognize toxin-generating HAB species of concern.
Interactions, controls, and heterogeneity in harmful algal blooms: Exploring machine learning workflows and analyses (funded in 2022).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State
Contact: Liv Herdman
The goal of this project is to bring together four different data sets for three of the Finger Lakes in New York (Continuous water-quality data, discrete water-quality and biological sampling data, satellite observations and derivatives, and community- based monitoring of occurrence) to understand the key factors and interactions that are precursors to localized and/or wide spread cyanobacterial blooms and identify the data sources that are best able to forecast blooms. A workflow will be developed for combining these datasets that cover different spatial and temporal scales into a uniform dataset that can then be used in machine learning algorithms. Developing this dataset will allow for exploration of the available time-series methods that have been applied to forecasting HABS.
Use of acoustic Doppler current profilers to supplement and inform HABs monitoring (funded in 2022).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State, with additional field testing in other US States
Contact: Elizabeth Nystrom
The goal of this project is to determine if and how acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) profiles can be used to supplement or even replace other data collected for HABs monitoring (for example, temperature profiles). Analysis of an existing ADCP and data-rich HABs dataset (from the Finger Lakes HAB monitoring pilot program) can demonstrate an application of this technology to HABs monitoring, and test deployments at additional locations can determine if the technology is transferable, and/or in which conditions it is transferable.
A paleolimnological approach to understand the history of cyanobacterial occurrence in oligotrophic Adirondack Lakes (funded in 2022).
Study area: Adirondacks, northeastern New York State
Contact: Jennifer Graham
The objective of this study is to use paleolimnological approaches to reconstruct the history of cyanobacterial occurrence in Moreau Lake and other oligotrophic Adirondack lakes. Sediment cores will be collected from Moreau Lake and 1-2 other comparable oligotrophic Adirondack lakes. Including multiple lakes will allow comparisons among lakes to determine if the patterns observed in Moreau are unique or are more inherent to the character of Adirondack Lakes. The ultimate goal of this effort is to better understand the occurrence of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in oligotrophic lakes. Study outcomes will indicate whether cyanobacteria are a naturally recurring, occasional phenomenon in these systems or if they have increased in recent years.
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms, related loss of recreational opportunities, and impacts on potential environmental justice areas in New York (funded in 2022).
Study area: New York State
Contact: Sabina Gifford
The goal of this study is to describe and quantify the impacts of cyanobacteria blooms in potential environmental justice areas (PEJAs) and non-PEJAs in New York State. This study will: 1)describe the distribution of reported cyanobacteria blooms in relation to PEJAs as defined by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; 2) quantify bloom frequency, duration, toxicity, and lost recreational opportunities in PEJAs and non-PEJAs; 3) evaluate monitoring efforts in PEHAs and non-PEJAs; and 4) assess availability of data to evaluate potential drinking-water and economic impacts in PEJAs and non-PEJAs.
Integrating satellite derived algal indices into the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (funded in 2022).
Study area: Hudson River, New York
Contact: Jennifer Graham
The goal of this study is to make use of remotely sensed information to interpolate data from the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS) network to high spatial resolution. Specific objectives are to 1) interpolate water quality in instances where point observations are available, and 2) incorporate these new data products into the HRECOS network. This project will take advantage of the dense monitoring network to test a new approach to remote sensing of algal metrics. HRECOS stations within a satellite image will be used to calibrate each image individually. Values between each HRECOS station can then be interpolated to give an indication of conditions throughout the entire reach.
Cyanobacterial Occurrence and Bloom Development in Oligotrophic Adirondack Lakes (funded in 2021).
Study area: Adirondacks, northeastern New York State
Contact: Jennifer Graham
Some of the most pristine lakes in New York experience cyanobacterial blooms. Once these lakes experience blooms, they appear more likely to experience them again. Blooms may restructure algal community composition and create bottom sediment “seed” banks that act as source areas for future bloom development. This study will characterize algal communities and potential seed bank source areas in oligotrophic lakes in northeastern New York, including the Adirondacks, that have and have not had documented blooms.
Cyanobacterial Transport and Community Dynamics in the Lower Hudson River (funded in 2021).
Study area: Lower Hudson River, New York
Contact: Jennifer Graham
The first documented cyanobacterial bloom on the Lower Hudson River occurred during summer 2019, but cyanobacterial dynamics are not well understood. This study will describe the spatial and temporal variability of cyanobacteria along the entire 137-mile reach of the Lower Hudson River and characterize the environmental factors associated with observed spatial and temporal gradients. In addition, this study will lay the groundwork for development of potential early indicators using the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS).
Imaging Flow Cytometry for Rapid Identification and Quantification of Cyanobacteria (funded in 2020).
Study area: Multiple Coastal regions of U.S.
Contact: Guy M. Foster, Jennifer Graham
Cyanobacterial identification and enumeration are essential to understanding bloom dynamics but can be costly and slow, sometimes requiring weeks or months for results. Laboratory-based imaging flow cytometry has the potential to reduce sample costs and provide results within 24 hours, but method validation is needed. In this study, imaging flow cytometry will be compared with traditional microscopy and field fluorometry and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach will be evaluated.
Cyanobacterial Dynamics at the Sediment-Water Interface (funded in 2020).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State
Contact: Guy M. Foster, Jennifer Graham
Internal wave dynamics and interactions at the sediment-water interface may be an important driver of cyanobacterial bloom dynamics in the Finger Lakes, but connections between these processes are insufficiently understood. This study will assess and compare cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin genetic signatures and activity in bottom water and bed sediments, assess viability of cyanobacteria in sediments, and determine if resuspension by internal waves or fall turnover affects cyanobacteria in bottom waters and at the sediment-water interface.
Cyanobacterial Community Structure and Function in the Finger Lakes (funded in 2019).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State
Contact: Guy M. Foster, Jennifer Graham
Genetic analysis to characterize cyanobacterial community composition (“who is there”) and function (“what are they doing”) will be added to advanced sensor technology and discrete water-quality data being used in Owasco and Seneca Lakes. The genetic analysis will add an important dimension to the ongoing advanced water-quality monitoring program designed to shed light on environmental conditions associated with bloom formation and cyanotoxin production.
Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) in the Finger Lakes (funded in 2019).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State
Contact: Guy M. Foster, Jennifer Graham
SPATT samplers, which adsorb cyanotoxins in the water column for analysis, are passive and time-integrative, capturing ephemeral toxin events that can be missed by traditional discrete sampling. In this project, SPATT samplers will be added to the advanced data-collection platforms on Owasco and Seneca Lakes.
Ohio
Ohio River Harmful Algal Blooms Early Warning System Expansion--Phase 2 Sites (funded in 2021).
Study area: Ohio River Basin along the Ohio-West Virginia and Ohio-Kentucky border
Contact: Angie Crain
This project is an expansion to the scope of the FY20 phase 1 HAB monitoring strategies in the Ohio River Basin. The expansion project includes three additional sampling sites (two additional drinking water intake sites and the Ohio River at Pike Island, WV site) to compile sufficient data for predictive HAB model development at the five phase 1 sites.
Building a Harmful Algal Bloom Early Warning System in the Ohio River Basin (funded in 2020).
Study area: Lower Ohio River Basin
Contact: Angie Crain
This study will initiate harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring strategies for the Lower Ohio River Basin by quantifying and determining associations between cyanotoxins, cyanobacterial genes, nutrient concentrations, and continuous near-real-time water-quality measurements. The study also will identify cyanobacteria responsible for cyanotoxin production. Monitoring strategies will be the first step towards developing a system for estimating toxin concentrations in near-real-time using predictive models.
Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN)
Study area: Buck Creek Lake, Ohio (funded in 2021), Caesar Creek Lake, Ohio (funded in 2020).
Contact: Jessica Cicale
Currently, limited scientific understanding of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABS) prevents prediction of toxic blooms in lakes of the United States. The CyAN is a multi-agency project between EPA, NASA, NOAA, and USGS to develop an early warning system using satellite data to detect HABs in freshwater systems. The USGS began work at Caesar Creek Lake, Ohio as part of CyAN and has expanded to a second lake, Buck Creek Lake, Ohio. This study will provide field data needed for ground-to-space validation of satellite algorithms and site-specific statistical models for prediction of potentially toxic HABs at lakes in the U.S. mid-continent region.
Models for Estimating Microcystin Concentrations in Source Waters at the Cadiz Water Treatment Plant (funded in 2019).
Study area: Tappan Lake, Village of Cadiz Water Treatment Plant intake, Scio, Ohio
Contact: Donna Francy
For this study, the relations between phycocyanin and chlorophyll—pigments associated with cyanobacteria—and environmental data will be used in a quantitative model to aid in choosing among water-treatment options. The study will focus on continuous and discrete data collected at the intake to a water-treatment plant from Tappan Lake and builds on an existing collaboration with the Cadiz Water Treatment Plant and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District.
Oregon
Real-Time Monitoring and Prediction of Harmful Algal Blooms in Oregon's Cascade Range Rivers (funded in 2023).
Study area: North Santiam River Basin, Oregon
Contact: Kurt Carpenter
One goal of the project is providing early warnings of HABs to dam operators and water providers with real-time data from Detroit Lake and downriver stations. Gaining a better understanding of bloom dynamics, and forecasting and predicting HABs using AI, is another related outcome that data collection already supports through collaborations with Oregon State University. The vertical profiler and in-river monitor deployments enhance the ability to monitor HABs by providing high-frequency, cost-effective data that is processed and made accessible and actionable through the Profile Analysis Tool.
HABs in Columbia River at TriCities (funded in 2023).
Study area: Columbia River Mainstem, upstream of City of Portland, Columbia South Shore Well Fields
Contact: Patrick Moran
This study will provide at least four unique capabilities (continuous real-time data, expanded and detailed toxin chemistry confirmation and characterization, microcystin gene activity, and application of satellite-based algal mapping) to a large river and a community that's recreational economy and drinking water is threatened by recent toxin concentrations.
Best practices for field spectroscopy (funded in 2023).
Study area: Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon and Chesapeake Bay watershed, including Lake Anna and Shenandoah River
Contact: Natalie Hall
This study will provide reference data needed for ground-to-space validation of satellite algorithms and for identification of potentially toxic HABs in U.S. lakes and rivers, as a first step towards development of an early warning system using satellite data to detect toxic cyanobacteria in freshwater systems. A validation protocol will be developed and tested for hyperspectral field spectrometers, across commonly used instrument models. The protocol will be developed to include measurement uncertainties with SI traceability by leveraging a NIST collaboration. SI traceability ensures repeatable results on a recognized scale regardless of time or place of collection. The protocol will produce consistently accurate reference data by using NIST standards and will facilitate expansion of the HABs spectral reference data set. This protocol will improve the suite of in situ tools that can be used to track changing HAB community conditions.
Enhanced Monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms—New Tools to Inform Dam Operations and Drinking Water Treatment (funded in 2019).
Study area: Detroit and Cougar Reservoirs, Oregon
Contact: Kurt Carpenter
This project will provide dam operators with real-time data on total chlorophyll, phycocyanin, and other HAB indicators, and a web-based profile analysis tool to understand HAB dynamics in Detroit Lake (North Santiam River Basin) and Cougar Reservoir (McKenzie River Basin). The information will identify the location of cyanobacteria in the water column, allow dam operators to tailor releases to minimize impacts from HABs, and provide drinking-water treatment plant operators with advance notice of cyanobacteria in raw water supplies.
Puerto Rico
Assessing Harmful Algal Blooms in Caño Martín Peña (funded in 2023).
Study area: Caño Martín Peña, San Jose Lagoon, and San Juan Bay, Puerto Rico
Contact: Viviana Mazzei
Changes in algal assemblage structure provides an early signal of changing environmental conditions, both positive and negative. Monitoring these assemblages in Caño Martín Peña (CMP), the San Jose Lagoon, and the San Juan Bay will provide valuable information on the progress and success of the planned habitat restoration efforts by the CMP Channel Urban Waters Federal Partnership. Although algal studies in this area have been extremely limited, harmful algal blooms have been reported as part of the ecological degradation of CMP. This study will characterize algal assemblages and investigate linkages between algal dynamics and emergent environmental conditions in these habitats related to historic pollution and restoration efforts.
Tennessee
Occurrence and Distribution of Cyanotoxins in under-investigated, high-value locations in Tennessee (funded in 2022).
Study area: Tennessee State
Contact: Tom Byl
This project has 2 major goals: (1) characterizing the occurrence of cyanotoxins at under-investigated locations susceptible to HABs including urban and rural hotspots during May–November growing seasons, 2022-2024; and (2) Evaluate the efficacy of Bacillus bacteria treatment to mitigate HAB events in a small urban wetland, April-November 2022 – 2023 by monitoring field parameters, turbidity, chlorophyll a and phycocyanin relative fluorescence units, and microcystin toxin levels.
Texas
Harmful algal bloom modeling framework for the Highland Lakes, Colorado River, Texas (funded in 2022).
Study area: Lower Colorado River, Texas
Contact: Erik Smith
This study will augment existing hydrodynamic and water-quality models (CE-QUAL-W2) for the five Lower Colorado River Authority managed Highland Lakes (the sixth reservoir, Lake Austin, managed by the City of Austin) with a consistent cyanobacteria modeling approach, including new model linkages. Additionally, the study will evaluate the use of remotely sensed cyanobacteria detection methods to pair model simulations with near real-time observations and verify historical calibration data.
Development of Near Real-Time Satellite Monitoring of HABs in Inland Water Bodies (funded in 2019).
Study area: Trinity, Sabine, and Red River Basins, Texas
Contact: Christopher Churchill
Remote sensing by satellites is a promising method for real-time detection of cyanobacteria over large areas, and this project will use field data from the Trinity, Sabine, and Red River Basins, among other water bodies throughout Texas, to adapt, enhance, and validate remote-sensing methods using high performance geoprocessing. A web-based application will be developed that allows users to identify—and possibly quantify—HABs.
Virginia
HAB onset identification through ecosystem metabolism modeling (funded in 2023).
Study area: Lake Anna, Shenandoah River, Virginia
Contact: John Jastram
This project will assess the ability of measures of system metabolism, especially gross primary productivity (GPP), to indicate the onset of HABS. StreamMetabolizer and LakeMetabolizer, models of aquatic system metabolism, use routinely measured water-quality characteristics such as dissolved oxygen and pH to estimate ecosystem respiration and GPP. Increases in GPP can be indicators of proliferation of photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria. This project will evaluate the relations between HAB onset and GPP, as well as the continuously measured water-quality characteristics used to inform the system metabolism models.
Evaluation of eDNA Identification of Microcystis aeruginosa in HAB Monitoring (funded in 2023).
Study area: Lake Anna, Shenandoah River
Contact: Douglas Chambers
This project will assess the utility of environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis in identifying the presence of potentially toxigenic cyanobacteria taxa in both lentic and lotic environments. Results of traditional algal community analysis and analysis of samples for cyanotoxins will be compared to eDNA results to determine which methods provides the earliest and most accurate indication of growth of cyanobacteria taxa that can produce harmful concentrations of toxins.
Wisconsin
Influence of cyanobacteria fluvial seeding, hydrology, and weather on Lake Superior algal blooms (funded in 2023).
Study area: Siskiwit Watershed (Sand River, Bois Brule, Siskiwit River), Lake Superior nearshore
Contact: Carrie Givens
Using a land-to-lake approach, this study will evaluate changes in cyanobacteria loading and community dynamics with weather, hydrology, sediment, and nutrient availability, to understand how variable watershed inputs and weather patterns influence nearshore algal bloom initiation, a critical component in predicting bloom formation and toxin production. This project spatially expands on a previous project by increasing watershed monitoring to three tributaries, including a critical tribal water resource, and expanding surveys along Lake Superior's western arm providing better understanding of nearshore hydrology on cyanobacteria, nutrient, and sediment movement and transport.
Fox River fluvial cyanobacteria seeding (funded in 2023).
Study area: Lake Winnebago, Fox River watershed, Green Bay
Contact: Carrie Givens
By assessing the cyanobacterial load and community in both water and sediment, this study will examine the role of sediment in contributing to, or "seeding," Fox River and Green Bay HABs. This land-to-lake approach will evaluate the influence of upstream tributary hydrodynamics and cyanobacterial fluvial seeding on downstream HABs bloom initiation, a currently unknown but critical component in predicting algal bloom formation and toxin production. If the impact that this "seeding" has on cyanobacterial production can be defined, managers can focus their mitigation efforts on tributaries with the greatest potential for contributing to HABs.
Land to lake drivers of toxin production for Lake Superior (funded in 2022).
Study area: Lake Superior tributaries - Bois Brule River, Siskiwit River, and Sand River
Contact: Anna Baker
This project extends research occurring in 2021 under a single-season EPA-CSMI study, providing monitoring of nutrients, sediment, and cyanobacteria for multiple years. This project is needed for successful completion of another project "Making the Watershed Connection," supplying detailed characterization of relationships between storm frequency and magnitude nutrient, sediment, and cyanobacteria loading and bloom development and toxicity. This study's goal is to (1) to determine how cyanobacterial growth in tributaries contributes to nearshore blooms by additional toxin monitoring in both environments and (2) to link tributary loading, sediment nutrient concentrations, and sediment and water cyanobacterial population genetics to tributary and nearshore toxin production.
Making the Watershed Connection: The Influence of Cyanobacteria, Sediment, Nutrient Loading, and Hydrology on Cyanobacterial Bloom Initiation in the Nearshore Environment (funded in 2021).
Study area: Siskiwit Lake, Siskiwit River, Siskiwit Harbor (Lake Superior)
Contact: Carrie Givens
Current management goals aim to address lake eutrophication and HABs by reducing watershed nitrogen and phosphorus inputs. However, these goals do not account for watershed cyanobacteria inputs as a potential contributor to HABs and whether hydrologic event-based pulses of cyanobacteria may be an additional driver of bloom initiation. This study aims to make the connection between the land and lake by (1) assessing cyanobacteria growth and community indicators across riverine flow regimes, (2) determining spatial and temporal variation in nutrients, sediment, and cyanobacteria community throughout the watershed to nearshore, and (3) comparing the timing of nutrient and sediment loading to the nearshore with algal bloom initiation.
New projects from coast to coast will advance the research on harmful algal blooms (HABs) in lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The vivid emerald-colored algal blooms are caused by cyanobacteria, which can produce cyanotoxins that threaten human health and aquatic ecosystems and can cause major economic damage.
In Fiscal Years 2019 through 2023, Congress provided the USGS National Water Quality Program (NWQP) with additional resources to assess HABs. The NWQP has funded 55 projects in 19 States and Puerto Rico from 2019 through 2023 that advance real-time monitoring, remote sensing, and use of molecular techniques to identify and predict the occurrence of HABs and the toxins they produce. These new approaches will provide information that can act as an “early warning” of HABs, assist water-treatment plant operators in decision making, and build our knowledge of the cyanobacterial communities that cause HABs and the cyanotoxins produced. All projects are conducted jointly with state, regional, tribal, and (or) local partners.
Geographic areas with projects selected for funding
- California
5 projects, 2019-2025 - Colorado
2 projects, 2022-24 - Idaho
2 projects, 2019-20, 2022-24 - Illinois
1 project, 2021-2023 - Kansas
3 projects, 2020-22, 2021-23, 2023-25 - Maryland, Delaware, District of Columbia
2 projects, 2019-21, 2022-24 - Michigan
2 projects, 2020-22 - Minnesota
1 project, 2019-23 - Missouri
1 project, 2023-25 - North Dakota
1 project, 2022-24 - New England
1 project, 2019-21 - New Jersey
3 projects, 2020-24 - New York
13 projects, 2019-24 - Ohio
5 projects, 2019-23 - Oregon
4 projects, 2019-21, 2023-25 - Puerto Rico
1 project, 2023 - Tennessee
1 project, 2022-24 - Texas
2 projects, 2019-21, 2022-24 - Virginia
2 projects, 2023-25 - Wisconsin
4 projects, 2021-25
California
Rapid Response to a Heterosigma Bloom in the San Francisco Bay Estuary (funded in 2023).
Study Area: San Francisco Bay Estuary
Contact: Tamara Kraus
In mid-August 2022, scientists from the USGS California Water Science Center observed a large algal bloom in San Francisco Bay dominated by the harmful algae Heterosigma akashiwo, associated with “red tide" The USGS documented the bloom becoming more widespread by late August, at which point the USGS, other agencies, and citizens observed widespread fish kills, including of endangered species. Throughout the HAB event, USGS scientists mobilized resources to collect data to monitor the bloom, understand why it was occurring, and identify ecosystem impacts.
Managing HABs in California's Delta: Real-time Detection using Newly Developed Sensors (funded in 2021).
Study Area: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, San Francisco Bay Delta
Contact: Brian Bergamaschi
This study will develop new sensors to measure cyanobacterial bloom density for real-time harmful algal bloom (HAB) assessments. The underwater sensors will calculate bloom density using optical image analysis and cyanobacterial spectral signatures. An “internet of things” data processing pipeline will be developed that can assimilate data from sensors, apply calculations, and transmit a compact data stream of results. These sensors will improve the suite of in situ tools that can be used to track changing HAB conditions in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
Real-time HABS detection in the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta (funded in 2021)
Study Area: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Contact: Angela Hansen, Tamara Kraus
This study will develop custom sensors for early detection of Harmful algal blooms. Custom sensor arrays collect 3 measurements: optical camera, high resolution spectroradiometer, high frequency fluorometer. The goal of this study is to improve detection probabilities of large cells and aggregates, reducing bias from particle-size differences.
Mapping Cyanotoxin Concentrations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, California (funded in 2020).
Study Area: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Contact: Angela Hansen, Tamara Kraus
This study will add cyanotoxin measurement to other water-quality data collected during boat-based mapping surveys. Cyanotoxins will be measured by passing water through SPATT (Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking) samplers and by collecting water samples to measure toxins at specific locations and times. The broad spatial coverage will help improve our understanding of relations between cyanotoxin production, transport, and drivers such as water temperature, nutrients, and light availability.
Fixed Station Cyanotoxins in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (funded in 2020).
Study Area: Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta
Contact: Angela Hansen, Tamara Kraus
This study adds cyanotoxin measurements – using both SPATT (Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking) and whole water sampling approaches – to several monitoring stations in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta, a critical tidal aquatic habitat and drinking-water resource. These stations are equipped with sensors that measure flow, physico-chemical properties, nitrate, phytoplankton abundance and phytoplankton composition. The addition of cyanotoxin data to these stations will provide insight into drivers, sources, and transport of HABs and associated cyanotoxins.
Colorado
Three Lakes Clarity - Associated with Colorado River Big Thompson Project (funded in 2022)
Study Area: Upper Colorado River Basin, Grand Lake
Contact: Tanner Chapin
The USGS currently collects ancillary data for chlorophyll on Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain Reservoir, Lake Granby, Willow Creek Reservoir, and Windy Gap Reservoir. The USGS also operates a 6-parameter water quality sonde (water temperature, specific conductance, pH, turbidity, chlorophyll RFU, and fPC RFU) in the channel connecting Grand Lake and Shadow Mountain Reservoir. This project will add fluorescence of chlorophyll and phycocyanin to all lake profile data on the 5 reservoirs currently sampled and include additional chlorophyll samples.
High frequency water-quality sampling platform for HABs studies (funded in 2022)
Study Area: Blue Mesa Reservoir, Gunnison River Basin Curecanti National Recreation Area
Contact: Katie Walton-Day
The primary goal of this project is to collect high-frequency lake-profile, nutrient, and algae data to detect onset and evolution of HABs in Blue Mesa Reservoir. A secondary goal is to examine the data for water-quality trends and limnological conditions that (1) indicate onset of HABs, (2) support continuation of HABs, and (3) promote dissipation of HABs. Finally, the data may aid validation of remote sensing efforts in Blue Mesa Reservoir. If successful, the high-frequency data are a technological improvement over discrete water-quality samples and may improve our ability to detect and understand water-quality conditions before, during, and after HABs.
Idaho
Hypercube: Characterizing harmful algal blooms and aquatic macrophytes in Idaho water bodies using a multiplatform, multiscalar remote sensing approach (funded in 2022)
Study Area: Snake River, Kootenay River, Spokane River, Lake Coeur d’Alene, Brownlee Reservoir, Lake Cascade, and other lakes and rivers throughout Idaho
Contact: Stephen Hundt
This study seeks to overcome the obstacles associated with traditional multispectral sensors by using: 1) hyperspectral imagery to distinguish between toxigenic algae, benign algae, and macrophytes 2) hyper-spatial imagery to extend remote sensing approaches from lakes and reservoirs to river channels and 3 ) high-frequency satellite observations from the PlanetScope constellation to examine the onset and evolution of algal blooms and macrophyte infestations.
Sentinel-2 and Landsat-8 Algal Indices Delivery System for Idaho (funded in 2019)
Study area: Various lakes throughout Idaho
Contact: Tyler King
This project aims to provide water-resource managers with high-spatial resolution data suitable for detecting algal blooms in the large rivers and small and mid-sized lakes throughout Idaho. The data, from high-resolution Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 satellite images, will include algal and chlorophyll-a detection indices suitable for operational use. The high-resolution images will enable detection of potential HABs occurrence for many new water bodies and will add greater detail to identification of spatial occurrence of blooms in larger lakes.
Illinois
Hydrodynamic and Temperature Model Investigation of Illinois River HABs (funded in 2021).
Study area: Upper Illinois River
Contact: Paul Rydlund
The purpose of this study is to develop a hydrodynamic and temperature model of a 20-mile reach of the Upper Illinois River known to experience harmful algal blooms (HABs). The model will be two-dimensional in the vertical and longitudinal directions. Real-time flow and temperature data will be used to help develop and calibrate the model. Water balance, hydrodynamics, and temperature will be calibrated sequentially. Model results will indicate the role of hydrodynamics and temperature in HABs formation between Seneca, IL, and Starved Rock State Park.
Kansas
Connecting potentially toxic cyanobacteria bloom initiation in slowmoving streams, wetlands, and oxbows and subsequent movement to hydrologically connected reservoirs and large rivers (funded in 2023).
Study area: Milford and Perry Lake headwater areas and the floodplain of the Lower Kansas River
Contact: Ariele Kramer
This study seeks to (1) quantify the transport of potential cyanoHABs from wetlands and slow-moving tributaries to Milford Lake, Kansas in relation to weather (air temperature, wind-speed, and precipitation/runoff conditions) and biological latency (e.g. periods between condition and biological growth, succession, toxin production), (2) Determine the spatial and temporal transport of toxic bloom events in wetlands as a function of management actions. (3) Rene ground to space verification sampling methods to characterize intra- and interpixel variability for CyAN, LandSat and/or Sentinel 2.
Cyanobacteria Bloom Initiation in Slow Moving Streams (funded in 2021).
Study area: Milford and Perry Lake headwater areas and the floodplain of the Lower Kansas River
Contact: Brian Kelly
HAB development in slow-moving streams, wetlands, and oxbows and their relation to blooms in downstream reservoirs and rivers is largely unknown. This study will measure the hydrologic, water-quality, sediment, biological, meteorological, temporal, and spatial relations of HABs in headwater areas above Milford and Perry Lakes and the floodplain of the lower Kansas River, to receiving reservoirs or rivers. Study results will be used to help manage HABs and to better understand HAB occurrence in Kansas.
Field Verification of Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) Satellite Products to Estimate Nearshore Toxic Cyanobacteria Bloom Accumulation in Kansas Lakes and Reservoirs (funded in 2020).
Study area: Various lakes in Kansas, South Dakota, Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana, Wisconsin, and Ohio
Contact: Brian Kelly
This study will collect critical field data from HAB-impacted reservoirs to validate satellite algorithms and metrics for detecting and quantifying potentially toxic HABs. The validation will improve the use of CyAN as a nationwide early-warning indicator for HABs and algal toxins in freshwater. The study will collect hydrologic, water-quality, biologic, meteorologic, and hyperspectral data during satellite overflights to verify satellite data from HAB-impacted reservoirs and implement uniform methodology for using innovative technology.
Maryland, Delaware, and Washington D.C.
Development of extended chlorophyll-a time series using in-situ and remotely sensed training data for application to inland and coastal waters (funded in 2022).
Study area: Delaware River Basin
Contact: Kendall Wnuk
This study aims to (1) enhance current abilities to remotely sense inland and coastal chlorophyll-a and (2) extend the historic record of satellite-based chlorophyll estimates.
Application of Landsat Data to Map Cyanobacterial Blooms in the Delaware River Basin (funded in 2019).
Study area: Delaware River Basin
Contact: Mark Nardi
This project will map the occurrence and distribution of cyanobacterial blooms from 2000 to present in the Delaware River Basin, providing a detailed picture of HAB occurrence in time and space. The mapping will be based on existing Landsat (satellite) data and in-situ water samples, and the resulting digital maps can be used by predictive models as input or for calibration and validation.
Michigan
Ramping up Realtime HABs Monitoring in Michigan (funded in 2020).
Study area: various waterbodies in Michigan.
Contact: Amanda Bell
The State of Michigan has selected key waterbodies for investigation of harmful algal blooms (HABs). For this study, USGS will work with Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to enhance current monitoring with additional sampling and incorporation of real-time sensor and satellite technologies. The objectives are to validate remote sensing data from the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) application and to use real-time sensor data to advance capabilities for HAB prediction.
Minnesota
Beyond Microcystin (funded in 2019).
Study area: Select river basins in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota
Contact: Victoria Christensen
Many cyanotoxins other than microcystin are present in HABs—this study will use Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) technology and phycocyanin sensors within and outside wilderness areas such as Voyageurs National Park, Pipestone National Monument, and St. Croix Scenic Riverway to detect as many as 32 cyanotoxins. The results will shed light on the effect of differences in geography and setting on cyanobacteria and toxin production.
Missouri
Assessment of HABs on Mozingo Lake, Missouri (funded in 2023).
Study area: Mozingo Lake, Missouri
Contact: Heather Krempa
The objective of this study is to improve the understanding of the conditions triggering and controlling the occurrence, timing, magnitude, and toxicity of HABs and improve predication ability by relating parameters that can be monitored continuous and satellite imagery with algal species, chlorophyll, phycocyanin, and cyanotoxin data at Mozingo Lake, Missouri. Algal community shifts will be compared to changes in environmental factors to better understand the conditions triggering and controlling HABs. A continuous water-quality monitor will be installed within the lake to monitor conditions that may advance real-time monitoring of algae concentrations and provide advanced warning of potential HABs.
New England (Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island)
Evaluating Environmental DNA Lake Assessments (funded in 2019).
Study area: Cape Cod, Lake Champlain, and Central Maine
Contact: Charles W. Culbertson
New molecular genetic techniques for sensitive detection of cyanobacteria will be applied to New England lakes and glacial kettle ponds on Cape Cod. Time-series analysis will be used to identify conditions leading to HAB development, including changes in the microbial community structure, and the time involved. The outcome of this project will provide resource managers and stakeholders a robust tool for the early detection of cyanobacteria associated with HAB formation and the presence of genes responsible for cyanotoxin production.
New Jersey
Analyses to Further Evaluate and Interpret Novel Approaches to Monitor Downstream Transport of Harmful Algal Blooms and Associated Cyanotoxins in a Coastal New Jersey System (funded in 2023).
Study area: Deal Lake Watershed, Monmouth County
Contact: Heather Heckathorn
This study builds on another study that is evaluating Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) samplers to: 1) Synthesize data from multiple sources, identify key data gaps crucial to understanding the fate and transport of cyanotoxins in coastal systems and identify the potential factors that contribute to the proliferation of HABs in a coastal environment 2) Enhance coastal HABs project by collecting additional data to strategically fill data gaps before blooms develop and during bloom conditions. 3) Evaluate changing water-quality and biological conditions that influence cyanotoxin production and transport between HAB-impacted freshwater sources to downstream marine locations.
Application of novel approaches to monitor harmful algal blooms and fecal indicator bacteria in a coastal system (funded in 2022).
Study area: Deal Lake Watershed, Monmouth County
Contact: Heather Heckathorn; Anna Boetsma
This study has several goals: (1) Assess the transport of cyanobacteria, cyanotoxins, and fecal indicator bacteria from freshwater to marine systems to determine if water-quality indicators in coastal lakes can be detected in the ocean near outfalls, (2) Evaluate a fluorometer to assess near-real-time conditions of fecal indicator bacteria and compare results with traditional monitoring techniques that are labor intensive and require 18-24 hours for results, and (3) Evaluate low-cost passive, time-integrated Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) samplers to capture ephemeral events and transfers from freshwater to marine environments, which can be missed by traditional approaches.
Downstream Fate and Transport of Cyanobacteria and Cyanotoxins in the Raritan River Basin, New Jersey (funded in 2020).
Study area: Raritan River Basin, New Jersey
Contact: Pamela Reilly
This study evaluates the downstream fate and transport of cyanobacteria and cyanotoxins from headwater lakes and reservoirs to drinking water intakes within the Raritan River Water Supply Complex. A combination of passive samplers, periodic water-quality samples, and continuous monitoring will be used to investigate effects of rapid changes in water-quality conditions on cyanotoxin production and transport. The data collected will serve as a baseline to measure any future regulatory or mitigation actions to improve water quality.
New York
Data synthesis and experimentation to improve the use of passive samplers for cyanotoxin monitoring (funded in 2023).
Study area: National Parks, Finger Lakes, Clackamas River, San Francisco Bay Estuary, Raritan River, Salem River, and numerous locations throughout the Upper Midwest.
Contact: Jennifer Graham
The goals of this project are to: 1) Synthesize and evaluate the current approaches and knowledge gained from current Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) studies, including sampler construction, field deployment and retrieval, cyanotoxin extraction, data analysis and interpretation, and quality assurance. 2) Conduct experiments that fill key knowledge gaps about SPATT deployments and methods. 3) Establish general guidance for USGS projects to make the technology more accessible, comparable, and allow for comparisons across study areas.
Field imaging and AI identification of HAB species (funded 2022).
Study area: New York State and other locations around the US
Contact: Elizabeth Nystrom
The goal of this project is to develop field-deployable instrumentation for identification of HAB species of concern by building and testing a prototype low-cost imaging system using commercially available components and artificial intelligence processing. The systems would be for use in freshwater and trained to recognize toxin-generating HAB species of concern.
Interactions, controls, and heterogeneity in harmful algal blooms: Exploring machine learning workflows and analyses (funded in 2022).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State
Contact: Liv Herdman
The goal of this project is to bring together four different data sets for three of the Finger Lakes in New York (Continuous water-quality data, discrete water-quality and biological sampling data, satellite observations and derivatives, and community- based monitoring of occurrence) to understand the key factors and interactions that are precursors to localized and/or wide spread cyanobacterial blooms and identify the data sources that are best able to forecast blooms. A workflow will be developed for combining these datasets that cover different spatial and temporal scales into a uniform dataset that can then be used in machine learning algorithms. Developing this dataset will allow for exploration of the available time-series methods that have been applied to forecasting HABS.
Use of acoustic Doppler current profilers to supplement and inform HABs monitoring (funded in 2022).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State, with additional field testing in other US States
Contact: Elizabeth Nystrom
The goal of this project is to determine if and how acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) profiles can be used to supplement or even replace other data collected for HABs monitoring (for example, temperature profiles). Analysis of an existing ADCP and data-rich HABs dataset (from the Finger Lakes HAB monitoring pilot program) can demonstrate an application of this technology to HABs monitoring, and test deployments at additional locations can determine if the technology is transferable, and/or in which conditions it is transferable.
A paleolimnological approach to understand the history of cyanobacterial occurrence in oligotrophic Adirondack Lakes (funded in 2022).
Study area: Adirondacks, northeastern New York State
Contact: Jennifer Graham
The objective of this study is to use paleolimnological approaches to reconstruct the history of cyanobacterial occurrence in Moreau Lake and other oligotrophic Adirondack lakes. Sediment cores will be collected from Moreau Lake and 1-2 other comparable oligotrophic Adirondack lakes. Including multiple lakes will allow comparisons among lakes to determine if the patterns observed in Moreau are unique or are more inherent to the character of Adirondack Lakes. The ultimate goal of this effort is to better understand the occurrence of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in oligotrophic lakes. Study outcomes will indicate whether cyanobacteria are a naturally recurring, occasional phenomenon in these systems or if they have increased in recent years.
Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms, related loss of recreational opportunities, and impacts on potential environmental justice areas in New York (funded in 2022).
Study area: New York State
Contact: Sabina Gifford
The goal of this study is to describe and quantify the impacts of cyanobacteria blooms in potential environmental justice areas (PEJAs) and non-PEJAs in New York State. This study will: 1)describe the distribution of reported cyanobacteria blooms in relation to PEJAs as defined by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; 2) quantify bloom frequency, duration, toxicity, and lost recreational opportunities in PEJAs and non-PEJAs; 3) evaluate monitoring efforts in PEHAs and non-PEJAs; and 4) assess availability of data to evaluate potential drinking-water and economic impacts in PEJAs and non-PEJAs.
Integrating satellite derived algal indices into the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (funded in 2022).
Study area: Hudson River, New York
Contact: Jennifer Graham
The goal of this study is to make use of remotely sensed information to interpolate data from the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS) network to high spatial resolution. Specific objectives are to 1) interpolate water quality in instances where point observations are available, and 2) incorporate these new data products into the HRECOS network. This project will take advantage of the dense monitoring network to test a new approach to remote sensing of algal metrics. HRECOS stations within a satellite image will be used to calibrate each image individually. Values between each HRECOS station can then be interpolated to give an indication of conditions throughout the entire reach.
Cyanobacterial Occurrence and Bloom Development in Oligotrophic Adirondack Lakes (funded in 2021).
Study area: Adirondacks, northeastern New York State
Contact: Jennifer Graham
Some of the most pristine lakes in New York experience cyanobacterial blooms. Once these lakes experience blooms, they appear more likely to experience them again. Blooms may restructure algal community composition and create bottom sediment “seed” banks that act as source areas for future bloom development. This study will characterize algal communities and potential seed bank source areas in oligotrophic lakes in northeastern New York, including the Adirondacks, that have and have not had documented blooms.
Cyanobacterial Transport and Community Dynamics in the Lower Hudson River (funded in 2021).
Study area: Lower Hudson River, New York
Contact: Jennifer Graham
The first documented cyanobacterial bloom on the Lower Hudson River occurred during summer 2019, but cyanobacterial dynamics are not well understood. This study will describe the spatial and temporal variability of cyanobacteria along the entire 137-mile reach of the Lower Hudson River and characterize the environmental factors associated with observed spatial and temporal gradients. In addition, this study will lay the groundwork for development of potential early indicators using the Hudson River Environmental Conditions Observing System (HRECOS).
Imaging Flow Cytometry for Rapid Identification and Quantification of Cyanobacteria (funded in 2020).
Study area: Multiple Coastal regions of U.S.
Contact: Guy M. Foster, Jennifer Graham
Cyanobacterial identification and enumeration are essential to understanding bloom dynamics but can be costly and slow, sometimes requiring weeks or months for results. Laboratory-based imaging flow cytometry has the potential to reduce sample costs and provide results within 24 hours, but method validation is needed. In this study, imaging flow cytometry will be compared with traditional microscopy and field fluorometry and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach will be evaluated.
Cyanobacterial Dynamics at the Sediment-Water Interface (funded in 2020).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State
Contact: Guy M. Foster, Jennifer Graham
Internal wave dynamics and interactions at the sediment-water interface may be an important driver of cyanobacterial bloom dynamics in the Finger Lakes, but connections between these processes are insufficiently understood. This study will assess and compare cyanobacteria and cyanotoxin genetic signatures and activity in bottom water and bed sediments, assess viability of cyanobacteria in sediments, and determine if resuspension by internal waves or fall turnover affects cyanobacteria in bottom waters and at the sediment-water interface.
Cyanobacterial Community Structure and Function in the Finger Lakes (funded in 2019).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State
Contact: Guy M. Foster, Jennifer Graham
Genetic analysis to characterize cyanobacterial community composition (“who is there”) and function (“what are they doing”) will be added to advanced sensor technology and discrete water-quality data being used in Owasco and Seneca Lakes. The genetic analysis will add an important dimension to the ongoing advanced water-quality monitoring program designed to shed light on environmental conditions associated with bloom formation and cyanotoxin production.
Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) in the Finger Lakes (funded in 2019).
Study area: Finger Lakes region, New York State
Contact: Guy M. Foster, Jennifer Graham
SPATT samplers, which adsorb cyanotoxins in the water column for analysis, are passive and time-integrative, capturing ephemeral toxin events that can be missed by traditional discrete sampling. In this project, SPATT samplers will be added to the advanced data-collection platforms on Owasco and Seneca Lakes.
Ohio
Ohio River Harmful Algal Blooms Early Warning System Expansion--Phase 2 Sites (funded in 2021).
Study area: Ohio River Basin along the Ohio-West Virginia and Ohio-Kentucky border
Contact: Angie Crain
This project is an expansion to the scope of the FY20 phase 1 HAB monitoring strategies in the Ohio River Basin. The expansion project includes three additional sampling sites (two additional drinking water intake sites and the Ohio River at Pike Island, WV site) to compile sufficient data for predictive HAB model development at the five phase 1 sites.
Building a Harmful Algal Bloom Early Warning System in the Ohio River Basin (funded in 2020).
Study area: Lower Ohio River Basin
Contact: Angie Crain
This study will initiate harmful algal bloom (HAB) monitoring strategies for the Lower Ohio River Basin by quantifying and determining associations between cyanotoxins, cyanobacterial genes, nutrient concentrations, and continuous near-real-time water-quality measurements. The study also will identify cyanobacteria responsible for cyanotoxin production. Monitoring strategies will be the first step towards developing a system for estimating toxin concentrations in near-real-time using predictive models.
Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN)
Study area: Buck Creek Lake, Ohio (funded in 2021), Caesar Creek Lake, Ohio (funded in 2020).
Contact: Jessica Cicale
Currently, limited scientific understanding of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (HABS) prevents prediction of toxic blooms in lakes of the United States. The CyAN is a multi-agency project between EPA, NASA, NOAA, and USGS to develop an early warning system using satellite data to detect HABs in freshwater systems. The USGS began work at Caesar Creek Lake, Ohio as part of CyAN and has expanded to a second lake, Buck Creek Lake, Ohio. This study will provide field data needed for ground-to-space validation of satellite algorithms and site-specific statistical models for prediction of potentially toxic HABs at lakes in the U.S. mid-continent region.
Models for Estimating Microcystin Concentrations in Source Waters at the Cadiz Water Treatment Plant (funded in 2019).
Study area: Tappan Lake, Village of Cadiz Water Treatment Plant intake, Scio, Ohio
Contact: Donna Francy
For this study, the relations between phycocyanin and chlorophyll—pigments associated with cyanobacteria—and environmental data will be used in a quantitative model to aid in choosing among water-treatment options. The study will focus on continuous and discrete data collected at the intake to a water-treatment plant from Tappan Lake and builds on an existing collaboration with the Cadiz Water Treatment Plant and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District.
Oregon
Real-Time Monitoring and Prediction of Harmful Algal Blooms in Oregon's Cascade Range Rivers (funded in 2023).
Study area: North Santiam River Basin, Oregon
Contact: Kurt Carpenter
One goal of the project is providing early warnings of HABs to dam operators and water providers with real-time data from Detroit Lake and downriver stations. Gaining a better understanding of bloom dynamics, and forecasting and predicting HABs using AI, is another related outcome that data collection already supports through collaborations with Oregon State University. The vertical profiler and in-river monitor deployments enhance the ability to monitor HABs by providing high-frequency, cost-effective data that is processed and made accessible and actionable through the Profile Analysis Tool.
HABs in Columbia River at TriCities (funded in 2023).
Study area: Columbia River Mainstem, upstream of City of Portland, Columbia South Shore Well Fields
Contact: Patrick Moran
This study will provide at least four unique capabilities (continuous real-time data, expanded and detailed toxin chemistry confirmation and characterization, microcystin gene activity, and application of satellite-based algal mapping) to a large river and a community that's recreational economy and drinking water is threatened by recent toxin concentrations.
Best practices for field spectroscopy (funded in 2023).
Study area: Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon and Chesapeake Bay watershed, including Lake Anna and Shenandoah River
Contact: Natalie Hall
This study will provide reference data needed for ground-to-space validation of satellite algorithms and for identification of potentially toxic HABs in U.S. lakes and rivers, as a first step towards development of an early warning system using satellite data to detect toxic cyanobacteria in freshwater systems. A validation protocol will be developed and tested for hyperspectral field spectrometers, across commonly used instrument models. The protocol will be developed to include measurement uncertainties with SI traceability by leveraging a NIST collaboration. SI traceability ensures repeatable results on a recognized scale regardless of time or place of collection. The protocol will produce consistently accurate reference data by using NIST standards and will facilitate expansion of the HABs spectral reference data set. This protocol will improve the suite of in situ tools that can be used to track changing HAB community conditions.
Enhanced Monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms—New Tools to Inform Dam Operations and Drinking Water Treatment (funded in 2019).
Study area: Detroit and Cougar Reservoirs, Oregon
Contact: Kurt Carpenter
This project will provide dam operators with real-time data on total chlorophyll, phycocyanin, and other HAB indicators, and a web-based profile analysis tool to understand HAB dynamics in Detroit Lake (North Santiam River Basin) and Cougar Reservoir (McKenzie River Basin). The information will identify the location of cyanobacteria in the water column, allow dam operators to tailor releases to minimize impacts from HABs, and provide drinking-water treatment plant operators with advance notice of cyanobacteria in raw water supplies.
Puerto Rico
Assessing Harmful Algal Blooms in Caño Martín Peña (funded in 2023).
Study area: Caño Martín Peña, San Jose Lagoon, and San Juan Bay, Puerto Rico
Contact: Viviana Mazzei
Changes in algal assemblage structure provides an early signal of changing environmental conditions, both positive and negative. Monitoring these assemblages in Caño Martín Peña (CMP), the San Jose Lagoon, and the San Juan Bay will provide valuable information on the progress and success of the planned habitat restoration efforts by the CMP Channel Urban Waters Federal Partnership. Although algal studies in this area have been extremely limited, harmful algal blooms have been reported as part of the ecological degradation of CMP. This study will characterize algal assemblages and investigate linkages between algal dynamics and emergent environmental conditions in these habitats related to historic pollution and restoration efforts.
Tennessee
Occurrence and Distribution of Cyanotoxins in under-investigated, high-value locations in Tennessee (funded in 2022).
Study area: Tennessee State
Contact: Tom Byl
This project has 2 major goals: (1) characterizing the occurrence of cyanotoxins at under-investigated locations susceptible to HABs including urban and rural hotspots during May–November growing seasons, 2022-2024; and (2) Evaluate the efficacy of Bacillus bacteria treatment to mitigate HAB events in a small urban wetland, April-November 2022 – 2023 by monitoring field parameters, turbidity, chlorophyll a and phycocyanin relative fluorescence units, and microcystin toxin levels.
Texas
Harmful algal bloom modeling framework for the Highland Lakes, Colorado River, Texas (funded in 2022).
Study area: Lower Colorado River, Texas
Contact: Erik Smith
This study will augment existing hydrodynamic and water-quality models (CE-QUAL-W2) for the five Lower Colorado River Authority managed Highland Lakes (the sixth reservoir, Lake Austin, managed by the City of Austin) with a consistent cyanobacteria modeling approach, including new model linkages. Additionally, the study will evaluate the use of remotely sensed cyanobacteria detection methods to pair model simulations with near real-time observations and verify historical calibration data.
Development of Near Real-Time Satellite Monitoring of HABs in Inland Water Bodies (funded in 2019).
Study area: Trinity, Sabine, and Red River Basins, Texas
Contact: Christopher Churchill
Remote sensing by satellites is a promising method for real-time detection of cyanobacteria over large areas, and this project will use field data from the Trinity, Sabine, and Red River Basins, among other water bodies throughout Texas, to adapt, enhance, and validate remote-sensing methods using high performance geoprocessing. A web-based application will be developed that allows users to identify—and possibly quantify—HABs.
Virginia
HAB onset identification through ecosystem metabolism modeling (funded in 2023).
Study area: Lake Anna, Shenandoah River, Virginia
Contact: John Jastram
This project will assess the ability of measures of system metabolism, especially gross primary productivity (GPP), to indicate the onset of HABS. StreamMetabolizer and LakeMetabolizer, models of aquatic system metabolism, use routinely measured water-quality characteristics such as dissolved oxygen and pH to estimate ecosystem respiration and GPP. Increases in GPP can be indicators of proliferation of photosynthetic organisms such as cyanobacteria. This project will evaluate the relations between HAB onset and GPP, as well as the continuously measured water-quality characteristics used to inform the system metabolism models.
Evaluation of eDNA Identification of Microcystis aeruginosa in HAB Monitoring (funded in 2023).
Study area: Lake Anna, Shenandoah River
Contact: Douglas Chambers
This project will assess the utility of environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis in identifying the presence of potentially toxigenic cyanobacteria taxa in both lentic and lotic environments. Results of traditional algal community analysis and analysis of samples for cyanotoxins will be compared to eDNA results to determine which methods provides the earliest and most accurate indication of growth of cyanobacteria taxa that can produce harmful concentrations of toxins.
Wisconsin
Influence of cyanobacteria fluvial seeding, hydrology, and weather on Lake Superior algal blooms (funded in 2023).
Study area: Siskiwit Watershed (Sand River, Bois Brule, Siskiwit River), Lake Superior nearshore
Contact: Carrie Givens
Using a land-to-lake approach, this study will evaluate changes in cyanobacteria loading and community dynamics with weather, hydrology, sediment, and nutrient availability, to understand how variable watershed inputs and weather patterns influence nearshore algal bloom initiation, a critical component in predicting bloom formation and toxin production. This project spatially expands on a previous project by increasing watershed monitoring to three tributaries, including a critical tribal water resource, and expanding surveys along Lake Superior's western arm providing better understanding of nearshore hydrology on cyanobacteria, nutrient, and sediment movement and transport.
Fox River fluvial cyanobacteria seeding (funded in 2023).
Study area: Lake Winnebago, Fox River watershed, Green Bay
Contact: Carrie Givens
By assessing the cyanobacterial load and community in both water and sediment, this study will examine the role of sediment in contributing to, or "seeding," Fox River and Green Bay HABs. This land-to-lake approach will evaluate the influence of upstream tributary hydrodynamics and cyanobacterial fluvial seeding on downstream HABs bloom initiation, a currently unknown but critical component in predicting algal bloom formation and toxin production. If the impact that this "seeding" has on cyanobacterial production can be defined, managers can focus their mitigation efforts on tributaries with the greatest potential for contributing to HABs.
Land to lake drivers of toxin production for Lake Superior (funded in 2022).
Study area: Lake Superior tributaries - Bois Brule River, Siskiwit River, and Sand River
Contact: Anna Baker
This project extends research occurring in 2021 under a single-season EPA-CSMI study, providing monitoring of nutrients, sediment, and cyanobacteria for multiple years. This project is needed for successful completion of another project "Making the Watershed Connection," supplying detailed characterization of relationships between storm frequency and magnitude nutrient, sediment, and cyanobacteria loading and bloom development and toxicity. This study's goal is to (1) to determine how cyanobacterial growth in tributaries contributes to nearshore blooms by additional toxin monitoring in both environments and (2) to link tributary loading, sediment nutrient concentrations, and sediment and water cyanobacterial population genetics to tributary and nearshore toxin production.
Making the Watershed Connection: The Influence of Cyanobacteria, Sediment, Nutrient Loading, and Hydrology on Cyanobacterial Bloom Initiation in the Nearshore Environment (funded in 2021).
Study area: Siskiwit Lake, Siskiwit River, Siskiwit Harbor (Lake Superior)
Contact: Carrie Givens
Current management goals aim to address lake eutrophication and HABs by reducing watershed nitrogen and phosphorus inputs. However, these goals do not account for watershed cyanobacteria inputs as a potential contributor to HABs and whether hydrologic event-based pulses of cyanobacteria may be an additional driver of bloom initiation. This study aims to make the connection between the land and lake by (1) assessing cyanobacteria growth and community indicators across riverine flow regimes, (2) determining spatial and temporal variation in nutrients, sediment, and cyanobacteria community throughout the watershed to nearshore, and (3) comparing the timing of nutrient and sediment loading to the nearshore with algal bloom initiation.