CyanoTRACKER partnering on algal blooms across the U.S.

The CyanoTRACKER project, a collaboration between University of Georgia researchers, collects and integrates community reports, remote sensing data and digital image analytics to detect and differentiate between regular algal blooms and Cyanobacyerial Harmful Algal Blooms (CyanoHABs). As the frequency and magnitude of CyanoHABs have grown, particularly in the summer months, CyanoTRACKER offers accurate, cost-effective, and targeted monitoring of these events that seamlessly integrates community observations, remote sensing measurements, and advanced multimedia analytics for effective CyanoHABs monitoring.

The CyanoTRACKER team has begun to implement large-scale fieldwork to make cyano monitoring and prediction better as part of the CyanoTracker work. With plans to visit many cyano-prone waterbodies across the continental U.S. in the next 3 months. 

With support from NASA, the team recently partnered with Cleveland State University on field work with the University of Wisconsin, Green Bay, to collect radiometric measurements and water samples. The team then moved on to a collaboration with Cleveland State on Lake Erie, followed by:

1. Utah Lake with Utah State and Utah DEQ (week of Aug.19)
2. Lake Okeechobee with FAU (week of Aug 26)
3. Clear Lake, CA (Week of Sep 1). 
4. Lake Pontchartrain with UNO (week of Sep 16)
5. Lake Winnipeg with Lake Winnipeg Research Consortium Inc. (week of Oct 7)

 "We have planned and are starting to implement a massive effort for large-scale fieldwork to make cyano monitoring and prediction better as part of the CyanoTRACKER work," said Deepak Mishra, Merle C. Prunty, Jr. Professor, associate head of the department of geography in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and Project P.I. on CyanoTRACKER. "We are partnering with many state universities and state agencies to visit many cyano-prone US waterbodies in the next 3 months."

The team is posting pictures from these efforts as it builds data collected to do impactful work on CyanoHABs. 

Composite image of Green Bay fieldwork.