Grantee Research Project Results
2021 Progress Report: MAP-HABS- An Innovative Platform for the Early and Ongoing Detection of Harmful Algal Blooms.
EPA Grant Number: SU840156Title: MAP-HABS- An Innovative Platform for the Early and Ongoing Detection of Harmful Algal Blooms.
Investigators: Reisfeld, Brad , Hall, Ed , Simske, Steve
Institution: Colorado State University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: December 1, 2020 through November 30, 2021 (Extended to November 30, 2022)
Project Period Covered by this Report: December 1, 2020 through November 30,2021
Project Amount: $25,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2020) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources
Objective:
The long-term objective of our research program is to develop and demonstrate a low-cost sensing device that can provide accurate and timely data to a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., farmers and ranchers, water resource managers, water quality regulators, and environmental and public health professionals) regarding the presence or likelihood of HABs in bodies of water and water supplies of concern. This device, the Mobile Autonomous Platform for Harmful Algal Bloom Sensing (MAP-HABS), will be a compact, autonomous, solar-powered, floating robot equipped with a variety of sensors and global positioning system components that allow rapid detection and communication of the presence of HABs. For increased dissemination of acquired data, the formats and communications protocols used by the device will be designed such that information can eventually be integrated into national systems like the ‘Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring System’ and ‘One Health Harmful Algal Bloom System’. The objective of this Phase I P3 project is to develop and demonstrate a prototype device with many of the essential features of the MAP-HABS.
Progress Summary:
To date, and consistent with the aims of this project, the major outputs of this project have been (i) a team of students who have been trained to work in an interdisciplinary team to undertake an important and challenging problem in environmental science, (ii) a prototype of the MAP-HABS (excluding the sensor module, which is currently under development), and (iii) educational materials related to the project in the context of the People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) approach.
Future Activities:
Developing and testing the sensor package for the detection of HABs and their toxins.
Journal Articles:
No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 3 publications for this projectSupplemental Keywords:
OHHABS, HABMS, NOAA, EPA, wireless sensor network, GPS, marine algal toxins, noxious phytoplankton, cyanobacteria, benthic algae, macroalgaeProgress and Final Reports:
Original AbstractThe perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.