Harmful Algal Blooms

Algal boom conference going online this year

Registration is open for this year’s Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science Conference, set for Wednesday, Sept. 2, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and slated to be held online because of the coronavirus pandemic. Viewing the conference is free and open to the public, but you have to register in advance. Find details and a link to register.

The speakers will include scientists from USDA; the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada; and CFAES.

Algal blooms are the typically pea-green, sometimes massive slime outbreaks that in recent years have plagued Lake Erie and other water bodies.

The conference’s organizer is Ohio State’s Ohio Sea Grant program, which works to protect the environment of Lake Erie and the Great Lakes.

(Photo: Tom Archer, Michigan Sea Grant.)

What’s new in harmful algal bloom science

Chris Winslow, pictured, director of Ohio State’s Ohio Sea Grant program and Stone Laboratory, will give a free public webinar called Harmful Algal Blooms: The Latest Science, featuring new and recent research on Lake Erie’s (generally) green seasonal slime, from 1–2:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31.

Find details and the link to watch. (Photo: Ohio Sea Grant.)

Thursday: Will farming changes be enough to meet Lake Erie’s phosphorus goal?

CFAES researchers will present “Evaluating Management Options to Reduce Lake Erie Algal Blooms With Models of the Maumee River Watershed” during a public press conference at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 21, on Ohio State’s Columbus campus. The event, the researchers say, will answer the question, “If agricultural landowners were to adopt a combination of feasible best management practices, could we reduce phosphorus enough to meet the targets set by the United States and Canada?”

Continue reading Thursday: Will farming changes be enough to meet Lake Erie’s phosphorus goal? →

Lake Erie’s algal bloom was twice as bad as last year’s

This summer’s harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie was twice as severe as last year’s—7.3 compared to 3.6, respectively, on a severity index of 1–10—and was slightly less than 2017’s, which was rated at 8. That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a Nov. 4 story on cleveland.com. Chris Winslow, director of Ohio Sea Grant and Stone Laboratory, was quoted in the story.

Continue reading Lake Erie’s algal bloom was twice as bad as last year’s →

Ohio agency directors to discuss water quality

The directors of three Ohio state agencies working to address nutrient runoff and water quality, including issues such as Lake Erie’s harmful algal blooms, will discuss their policies and programs on Tuesday, Oct. 8,  at Ohio State.

Continue reading Ohio agency directors to discuss water quality →

What’s new in algal bloom science

It’s not easy finding ways to stop the green. But the Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science conference, set for Sept. 12 in Toledo, hopes to share a few stories of success.

Continue reading What’s new in algal bloom science →

Hear the latest in algal bloom science

The fourth annual Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science conference, featuring new findings on algal blooms and multiple speakers from CFAES, is set for Sept. 12 in Toledo.

Find full details and register. The deadline to register is Sept. 4. (Photo: Lake Erie algal bloom, Jeff Reutter, Ohio Sea Grant, via Flickr.)

And so, unfortunately, they begin

Today’s Lake Erie Harmful Algal Bloom Bulletin, published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reports the presence of a Microcystis cyanobacteria bloom extending from Maumee Bay near Toledo about 13 miles north along the Michigan coast and 15 miles east along the Ohio coast. A persistent bloom in Sandusky Bay, the bulletin reports, is continuing.

You can learn more about NOAA’s harmful algal bloom forecasts here, and you can sign up to get bulletins about them (every couple of days or so from July to October) by clicking the blue “Subscribe” button. Details in the bulletins, which include the locations of blooms and three-day forecasts, can be used to plan your activities at Lake Erie.

NOAA last week predicted that western Lake Erie will experience significant harmful algal bloom levels this summer.