{"id":43545,"date":"2024-11-26T15:24:42","date_gmt":"2024-11-26T20:24:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=43545"},"modified":"2024-11-26T15:24:42","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T20:24:42","slug":"new-technology-helps-beat-back-harmful-algal-blooms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2024\/11\/26\/new-technology-helps-beat-back-harmful-algal-blooms\/","title":{"rendered":"New Technology Helps Beat Back Harmful Algal Blooms"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is identifying and controlling toxic algae several ways, from sophisticated imaging to sonic waves<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

Powered by solar panels, the sonicator buoy sits in Hunting Creek Lake in Frederick County. Photo by Joe Zimmermann\/DNR<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Robots in the water at Hunting Creek Lake are making it safe to swim.<\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s how Ranger Mark Spurrier said he explains the latest technology at the popular Cunningham State Park swimming hole to even the youngest visitors.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Labor Day weekend in 2023, one of the year\u2019s most popular times for swimming, the park had to close off all swimming access due to a bloom of cyanobacteria\u2014blue-green algae that, in high concentrations, can be harmful to people and animals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what prompted us to push to get these buoys,\u201d Spurrier said of the park\u2019s new tool to prevent harmful algal blooms. \u201cWe want to control it the best we can.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In June, the park installed two buoys in Hunting Creek Lake, each with ultrasonic transmitters, called sonicators, that use the power of sound to disrupt cyanobacteria blooms before they form.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lake usually gets a big cyanobacteria bloom in the fall, but so far, the sonicators have worked: There haven\u2019t been any toxin-producing blooms this year at Hunting Creek Lake.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWith climate change, there\u2019s the potential for this to get worse and become more than one in September or one in November. That was the fear,\u201d Spurrier said. \u201cThat prompted us to say we have to get ahead of this sooner rather than later.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

At the Maryland Department of Natural Resources\u2019 Science Week in September, department staff presented the sonicators and other technological methods they use to monitor algae and prevent harmful blooms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Algae are a large and diverse group of organisms that are often very small and found in water. There are <\/span>more than 1,454 species of algae<\/span><\/a> in the Chesapeake Bay, and only about 2% produce toxins. <\/span>While they\u2019re commonly known as blue-green algae, cyanobacteria are not technically algae but a single-celled bacteria. Despite their differences in classification and structure, cyanobacteria are informally grouped with algae because of their ecosystem function and ability to photosynthesize.<\/span><\/p>\n

High concentrations of algae, or blooms, are not always harmful, but some can be dangerous. Certain types of algae produce toxins that can cause serious health problems if touched or eaten. Cyanobacteria blooms can create skin irritants, liver toxins, and powerful neurotoxins, including anatoxin-a, known as \u201c<\/span>Very Fast Death Factor<\/span><\/a>.\u201d Algal blooms, such as the dinoflagellates that cause <\/span>mahogany tides<\/span><\/a>, also block sunlight and reduce oxygen in the water, sometimes leading to fish kills and harming plants and other aquatic life.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A microscopic image of Proboscia alata, a type of diatom, a single-celled alga. DNR<\/p><\/div>\n

The sonicators in Hunting Creek Lake work by applying a low-power ultrasonic pulse to the photic zone, the top layer of water that receives sunlight. This creates a pressure barrier that makes cyanobacteria unable to float up and photosynthesize near the surface. DNR staff monitor the system with an online dashboard, and LG Sonic, the sonicator\u2019s manufacturer, can alter waveforms based on water quality trends and the cyanobacteria species detected.<\/span><\/p>\n

The technology has also<\/span> proved successful at Camp Todd<\/span><\/a>, a Girl Scout camp near Denton, Maryland. It was purchased with input from DNR Resource Assessment Services staff. UMD Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology and DNR fisheries biologists reviewed the technology to confirm it wouldn\u2019t be harmful for fish at Hunting Creek Lake. The frequency range of the sonicators overlaps with those used by fishfinders.<\/span><\/p>\n

The buoys cost $50,100 each, and Spurrier said they were worth the investment, keeping the water safe for swimming and protecting it as a drinking source for the campgrounds and day use area at the park.<\/span><\/p>\n

High-tech tools for algae monitoring<\/b><\/p>\n

Climate change<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>excess nutrient pollution<\/span><\/a> can worsen the effects of harmful algal blooms, leading to more vigilance from DNR and other agencies in monitoring algae.<\/span><\/p>\n

DNR Resource Assessment Service biologists routinely assess communities of algae, the microscope forms of which are also known as phytoplankton, at 92 stations across the Chesapeake Bay and Maryland\u2019s Atlantic coast. They also monitor 12 state-owned lakes for harmful algal blooms, said Cathy Wazniak, DNR\u2019s environmental program manager who oversees algae monitoring.<\/span><\/p>\n

Traditionally, identifying harmful algal blooms involves microscopy, where biologists look through a microscope to identify types of algae. This requires highly trained taxonomists and is time consuming to perform. The department is putting several new tools into use to speed up that process.<\/span><\/p>\n

One new technology is the FlowCam Cyano, a phytoplankton imaging machine that processes a water sample and uses a laser to detect fluorescent emissions from algae, taking micrographs\u2014or microscopic photos\u2014of thousands of algae in minutes. Once scientists build libraries of various types of algae, the FlowCam will be able to differentiate algae by type.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal of getting the FlowCam is to reduce time at the microscope,\u201d Wazniak said. \u201cDetecting blooms will be the first big use for it. Once we have the libraries of algae, it will give us a quick and easy way to detect a bloom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

DNR is collaborating with the University of Maryland, St. Mary\u2019s College of Maryland, and research teams in neighboring states to build a combined set of algal libraries for the FlowCam.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"DNR<\/a>

A DNR staff member demonstrates the FlowCam during DNR’s September Science Week. Photo by AJ Metcalf\/DNR<\/p><\/div>

\"Rows<\/a>

A library of microcystis, a type of cyanobacteria, imaged by the FlowCam. DNR<\/p><\/div><\/p>\n

In addition to the FlowCam, which the department installed in January, DNR acquired another device called the PlanktoScope in June. The PlanktoScope operates similarly to the FlowCam, with a microscope and camera in addition to a computer that runs algae-identifying software, but it\u2019s portable, modular,\u00a0 and can be used on a boat or a truck. The team is also experimenting with the BloomOptix app, which uses a digital field microscope and AI to identify potential harmful algal blooms.<\/span><\/p>\n

Using traditional microscopy to identify blooms takes time, and with more blooms occurring it’s helpful to have more tools on hand, Wazniak said. When parks notice a potential algal bloom, they notify DNR\u2019s algal bloom team, which tests the water. If the bloom is harmful, DNR will alert state and local health agencies and continue to monitor the area until the bloom has cleared. Most blooms that are harmful in the state are cyanobacteria.<\/span><\/p>\n

Amy Hamilton, a DNR natural resources biologist monitoring algae, said the department\u2019s algae monitoring tools will help to speed up the identification of harmful blooms and potentially allow for more areas of monitoring. But she said they also reveal the incredible forms and complexity of microscopic life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Both algae and cyanobacteria are a critical part of ecosystems, providing a key food source for many organisms. Cyanobacteria even played a major role in <\/span>increasing the oxygen in the Earth\u2019s atmosphere<\/span><\/a> more than 2 billion years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you see the photos, you see how different they are and see how beautiful they are\u2014it\u2019s nature\u2019s geometric beauty,\u201d Hamilton said, describing the structures that algae create. \u201cYou can look and be amazed by what you wouldn\u2019t be able to see without these tools, what you can\u2019t see in a drop of water.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

DNR asks residents to <\/span>report algal blooms on the department\u2019s Eyes on the Bay website<\/span><\/a> and to look out for foamy, scummy water of unusual color that may smell like rotting plants. People and pets should take caution and stay away from potential blooms, and people can take steps to <\/span>reduce nutrient pollution<\/span><\/a> to help prevent harmful algal blooms.<\/span><\/p>\n

By Joe Zimmermann, science writer with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources is identifying and controlling toxic algae several ways, from sophisticated imaging to sonic waves \u00a0Robots in the water at Hunting Creek Lake are making it safe to swim. That\u2019s how Ranger Mark Spurrier said he explains the latest technology at the popular Cunningham State Park swimming hole to even  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":250,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[957,12,33],"tags":[5546,5544,3033,5545,5403,3547],"class_list":["post-43545","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appnews","category-parks","category-the-bay","tag-algae","tag-algal-bloom","tag-cunningham-falls-state-park","tag-harmful-algal-bloom","tag-science-week","tag-water-monitoring"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43545","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/250"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43545"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43545\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43561,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43545\/revisions\/43561"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43545"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43545"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43545"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}