It Takes a Village: Coastal Ocean Monitoring and Forecasting - Harmful Algal Blooms are the Perfect Poster Child for Cooperative Efforts
Abstract
The Gulf of Mexico is home to a variety of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) species and their impacts. With 2700 km of shoreline across the five states, monitoring for these blooms is a challenge both spatially and temporally. In recent years, monitoring blooms of Karenia brevis via remote sensing and forecasting the movement of the bloom has been conducted by NOAA National Ocean Service (NOS) with the publication of a weekly bulletin when a HAB event is occurring. The remote sensing information is validated by state monitoring programs. The majority of blooms are from the toxic dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis. The toxins become part of the marine aerosol and when inhaled, can cause respiratory illness in people who have underlying pulmonary disease such as asthma. The forecasting of toxic Karenia aerosols is challenging as blooms can be patchy and ocean currents can move impacts from beach to beach, day to day. A project involving the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) and the NOS has the vision to improve the forecasts to the beach level every day, which requires daily measurements.
To address the issue of needed increased monitoring both spatially and temporally, the key is to create an easy to use system for citizen scientists. A synthesis of new technologies was developed. A standard, student microscope was outfitted with a smartphone. Volunteers were trained to take a video of the beach obtained water sample. The video is then transferred to GCOOS where facial recognition software calculates a cell count automatically. Partnering on the project for assistance with messaging are the Florida Department of Health and the Florida Wildlife Research Institute. The results are used in a wind/forecast model at NOS. Partnerships like these between NOAA, GCOOS, and state agencies can protect the public health and safety of the tens of thousands of people who visit Gulf of Mexico beaches every day.- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFMOS21A..02K
- Keywords:
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- 4217 Coastal processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERALDE: 4235 Estuarine processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERALDE: 4262 Ocean observing systems;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERALDE: 4299 General or miscellaneous;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: GENERAL