Tag: Great Lakes

Harmful Algae Bloom Operational Forecast System – Perfect For Great Lakes

468px-NOAA_logoThe National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Harmful Algae Bloom (HAB) Operational Forecast System (OFS), which monitors bloom activity in the Gulf of Mexico from FL through TX, is working its way into the Great Lakes region.

Already, NOAA offers some OFS capabilities, the complete list of which appears via this link, but HAB monitoring is not yet a part.

Look for that to change and, though the HAB monitoring may have limited impact in area that already does a good job of monitoring bacteria levels such as E.coli (see: Wisconsin Beach Health), the extra involvement from NOAA certainly underscores the tremendously negative impact HAB have in freshwater and saltwater ecosystems alike.

The time to clean up Great Lakes? Now.

For those who live in the Great Lakes Basin, choking algae blooms in the Great Lakes, its tributaries, and inland lakes as well, is no longer news.

Algae Bloom Blankets Lake Erie, 2014
Algae Bloom Blankets Lake Erie, 2014

The matter is well-researched at this point, the major causes for the blooms are known, and it is even possible to identify what farm operations are the greatest contributors to this massive problem.

The below article provides a snapshot of current state of affairs:

Algae blooms in Great Lakes are of great concern.

Armed with indisputable research, and best practice land management approaches that are clear-cut and effective, there is every chance that these devastating, oxygen-sapping, aquatic life killing blooms can rapidly become a thing of the past.