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Two Decades of Cyanobacteria Bloom Assessment and Change Detection in Lakes of The Contiguous United States using Satellite Observations
Citation:
Mishra, S., R. Stumpf, A. Meredith, B. Schaeffer, J. Werdell, B. Seegers, AND K. Loftin. Two Decades of Cyanobacteria Bloom Assessment and Change Detection in Lakes of The Contiguous United States using Satellite Observations. 2021 International Conference on Harmful Algae, La Paz, MEXICO, October 10 - 15, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
The magnitude of satellite detected cyanobacteria harmful algal blooms are quantified for the largest lakes and reservoirs across the United States. The annual magnitude can be used to rank these lakes.
Description:
Continuous monitoring and assessment of Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Blooms (CyanoHABs) is a critical need for timely management of water quality and policymaking. This study assessed CyanoHAB magnitude in freshwater lakes across the Contiguous United States (CONUS) using satellite observations. CyanoHAB magnitude was estimated as the temporal mean of satellite-derived areal CyanoHAB biomass from the MERIS and OLCI instruments on Envisat and Sentinel-3 spacecrafts. CyanoHAB magnitudes in all CONUS lakes resolvable at 300x300m resolution were calculated for MERIS (2008-2011) and OLCI (2016-2020) time series. In total, 2,357 lakes were evaluated, with most of these lakes in Minnesota, Maine, Michigan, Texas, Florida, and Wisconsin. About 16% of all the lakes had CyanoHAB magnitude of potentially high risk (based on World Health Organization guidelines). These CONUS lakes were further ranked based on median bloom magnitude over the years. Ranking of lakes across the country provides actionable insight, which can be helpful to prioritize lake management strategies.
