Algal Bloom Monitoring in Alberta Lakes
Categories: Geospatial and Remote Sensing
Status: In Progress
About the Project
Tracking and forecasting of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms in Alberta using remote-sensing techniques under a changing climate
The occurrence of algal blooms, made up of organisms such as cyanobacteria (i.e., blue-green algae), can be potentially harmful to both human and animal health.
During the summer, nutrient-rich lakes can develop large blooms of phytoplankton. Some types of phytoplankton, like cyanobacteria (blue-green algae), can contain toxins that are harmful to humans and animals. Every year, usually in July and August, many of Alberta’s recreational lakes become filled with blue-green algae. In response to these blooms, Alberta Health Services posts Blue-Green Algae Health Advisories which caution Albertans and their pets to avoid all contact with them. These advisories can also result in major negative socio-economic impacts to Alberta’s recreation and tourism activities, to real estate values, and to Indigenous communities. As a result, knowing when, where, and why harmful algal blooms occur is important to scientists, policy makers, stewards, and lake enthusiasts.
The ABMI is collaborating with Dr. Rolf Vinebrooke at the University of Alberta, the Alberta Lake Management Society, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Associated Environmental Consultants Inc., the Pigeon Lake Watershed Association, Lac La Biche County, and the Wabamun Watershed Management Council to better understand these blooms.
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Project Collaborators
" The main objective is to enable for the first time in the province a high frequency tracking of the spatial and temporal dynamics of cyanobacterial blooms in several lakes, which is only possible using remote sensing via Earth Observation satellites. The knowledge gained from this exercise will advance our understanding of how cyanobacterial blooms have and continue to respond to various environmental factors (e.g., climatic variables), which will then enable the delivery of a predictive model for forecasting such events in the future.”
– Rolf Vinebrooke
Our Approach
Six lakes in Alberta, Canada (Lac La Biche, Ethel, Wabamun, Sylvan, Pigeon, and Nakamun) are being monitored in the summers of 2023 and 2024. Lake water samples are collected at the same time the Sentinel-2 satellite flies directly overhead collecting imagery. The satellite imagery is used to estimate chlorophyll-a concentrations (a green pigment found in algae), and the water samples are analyzed at the University of Alberta to identify types and concentrations of algae or cyanobacteria present, and to test water quality.
Together, the water samples and satellite data track algal blooms appearing on the lakes. By combining this data, researchers can develop models of current and historical blooms, and eventually predict future blooms, too!
Moving forward, the models will be used to develop an online app, freely available to anyone, to visualize and track blooms on these six lakes in "near real time," and to look at historical blooms. Researchers anticipate releasing the first version of the algal bloom app in 2025, and hope to expand the project to include more lakes in Alberta in the future.
Stay tuned for future project updates and announcements!
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Chlorophyll, the pigment in algal blooms, is visible from space.
This web tool is from a previously completed project at Pigeon Lake, Alberta that helps users visualize and download Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 derived chlorophyll A predictions. It is a joint project between: the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute, the University of Alberta, the Alberta Lake Management Society, Alberta Environment and Parks, the Pigeon Lake Watershed Association, and Alberta Health.
What We Found
Year 1 Findings
Chlorophyll-a samples from the 2023 field season (along with previous years’ data where available) were fitted to an aquatic chlorophyll index derived from wavelengths of light detected by the satellites. This model can be applied to satellite data from 2017 to present, providing insights into the spatial and temporal patterns of chlorophyll-a concentrations, a proxy for algal blooms, in the lakes over this time period. The model is still preliminary and will be refined and validated over the next year.
Each year and each lake is different, but some trends are emerging. Most blooms start mid to late summer, and often persist into the autumn, even as late as October on Lac La Biche and Pigeon Lake. We are tracking spatial distributions of the blooms, noting they often (but not always!) start along the north shore of the east basin of Lac la Biche, and in the northwest basin of Pigeon Lake. The satellite models show them quickly spread to other parts of the lake, and move around the lake from day to day. In Nakamun Lake, we are detecting more intense blooms in 2021-2023 compared to the preceding four years. In Wabamun Lake, we are finding relatively low chlorophyll concentrations in both the samples and model results. Wabamun Lake is known to have algal blooms, but seems to be dominated by species lower in chlorophyll. Sylvan and Ethel, the more oligotrophic lakes, appear not to have had any algal blooms yet.
In 2023, the warm spring temperatures brought an earlier than usual start to the algal blooms in Lac la Biche and Nakamun Lake. Nakamun’s bloom seemed to be concentrated in the east of the lake. Lac la Biche had intense, widespread blooms from July to October. Pigeon Lake had very dynamic blooms that moved around the lake during August and September. In Wabamun, chlorophyll levels became elevated in the north end of the lake in early August, and reached an overall lake peak in October.
Knowledge Mobilization
A core component of this project is knowledge mobilization and engagement. Public-facing communications activities, ranging from public presentations and news interviews to blog and social media posts, have been completed to raise public awareness about the project and the issue of blue-green algae in Alberta lakes.
Some examples can be found here:
ABMI Blog: Monitoring Blue-Green Algae Blooms in Alberta from Space
Folio Magazine: Seven things you should know about blue-green algae
CBC News Article: Alberta scientists tracking blue-green algae blooms using satellite imagery
Jen Hird presents at Geo4Good’23: Supporting land and resource management in Alberta, Canada, with Earth Engine to provide open access, provincial scale geospatial data sets (2:10)
Dr. Rolf Vinebrooke interviewed by CBC: June 2024
In addition, a multi-pronged and multi-year engagement approach is being undertaken to ensure the web-application under development will best serve the needs of its end-users.
Cyanobacteria in Pigeon Lake
Close-up of cyanobacteria
Funding and Acknowledgements
This project [Tracking and forecasting of cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms in Alberta using remote-sensing techniques under a changing climate] is funded by Alberta Innovates, through the Water Innovation Program, and Alberta Health.
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