June 26, 2018
Renn Lambert will be presenting at the 2018 Universities Council on Water Resources (UCOWR) and the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) Annual Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on June 28. The conference program offers plenary sessions and abstract-driven sessions for sharing the latest on science, policy, management, and education in water resources, with opportunities for attendees to network and socialize.
Renn’s presentation is titled “Operationalizing Monitoring Networks and Developing Toxicity Models for Lake Erie Harmful Algal Blooms.” His talk will take place during Session 40, “Modeling and Assessment of Cyanobacterial Blooms in Water,” in Marquis A at 10:30 am. The presentation coauthors include John Bratton and Ed Verhamme, both of LimnoTech; Kelli Paige of the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS); and Dr. Justin Chaffin, research scientist for The Ohio State University’s Stone Lab and Ohio Sea Grant. Renn will discuss two projects that LimnoTech and team members have been working on to enhance HAB monitoring and forecasting in Lake Erie that are also relevant to other water bodies.
The first project focuses on ways to: (1) stabilize and enhance organizational and financial support for operating in-lake monitoring assets; (2) improve data management and communications infrastructure; and (3) increase the usefulness of the online HABs Data Portal. These enhancements will allow managers in the region to have timely and reliable access to monitoring data during blooms to help them make informed decisions about water treatment and other activities affected by HABs in the years ahead.
The second project is a toxicity study that consists of three components: (1) examination of existing data to identify correlations between environmental variables (N, light, temperature, etc.) and HAB toxin concentrations; (2) incorporation of these analyses into numerical models of ecological processes to develop toxicity hindcasting and forecasting capabilities; and (3) field and lab experiments to better constrain toxin knowledge gaps, including tests of the influence of nitrogen and other factors. This work will improve understanding of controls on HAB toxicity, and will produce prototype forecasting models that could give stakeholders advance warning of suitable conditions for changing toxin concentrations in the lake.
If you would like to learn more about Renn’s presentation and the projects we are working on to improve HAB monitoring and forescasting, contact Renn Lambert at rlambert@limno.com or John Bratton at jbratton@limno.com.
