x
Breaking News
More () »

UT students take part in major group study of Lake Erie algal bloom

Eight different groups took part in largest joint water sampling ever earlier this month in the hopes to find new pathways to predict the bloom's toxicity.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Solving the Lake Erie algal bloom problem isn't an easy task. That's why multiple groups across the Midwest are working together to find a solution. 

Earlier this month, students and staff from the University of Toledo's Lake Erie Center took part in a historic joint task force effort.

Early in the morning on Aug. 7, a crew of four from the University of Toledo Lake Erie Center took to the lake to collect water samples for testing.

RELATED: Algae researchers to fan out across Lake Erie collecting water samples

The samples, taken from a two-meter-long tube, will be tested for a variety of indicators to track the quality of the fresh water in the Western Basin of Lake Erie, and also track the growth of the annual harmful algal bloom. 

"They'll be studied for toxin content, DNA, chlorophyll, several different parameters," Dr. Thomas Bridgeman, director of the University of Toledo Lake Erie Center said.

But, this collection wasn't part of their ordinary weekly sampling. These samples were collected as part of a much larger undertaking called the HABs Grab.

RELATED: Local groups test Lake Erie water for annual HABs grab

Eight different organizations were assigned a different sector of the roughly 1,200-square-mile Western Basin to collect a total of 175 samples.

This year's HABs Grab also incorporated crews from the Canadian government and the University of Windsor for the first time.

"This is unprecedented; where we've had this many groups coordinated together all at the same time, at the exact same time, taking samples on a body of water like this," Dr. Bridgeman said.

The hope is by collecting this large amount of data, it will lead to new pathways in to figuring out how to forecast the potential toxicity of the bloom.

The collection points for sampling were set to specific GPS locations, and the data derived from the samples will be cross-referenced to the high resolution satellite image taken that day.

The ultimate goal of this mass collection event is to get closer to finding a way to not only forecast the algal bloom size, but to understand the various factors that create the toxin in the algae itself.

"So, right now we can predict how big the bloom is going to get, but we're not very good at predicting how toxic it's going to become, or what causes the bloom to become toxic. And that's what this high resolution picture will help us do," Bridgeman said. 

For these University of Toledo students, being on the lake and helping collect the samples is invaluable real world experience that will carry over into their future careers.

Californian Amber Beecher hopes that what she learns under Dr. Bridgeman will help her be a part of the solution of a similar problem back home.

"I would like to be able to learn all about this and hopefully, maybe be able to go back there and apply what I've learned here there," Beecher said.

"It's a good field to be in, a lot of fun working on the water and the lab work. I love it," UT environmental sciences major Victoria Betz said.

Event organizers said the HABS Grab will continue on as a yearly event as long as there is harmful algae in the Western basin of Lake Erie to study.

RELATED: NASA photograph shows massive Lake Erie algae bloom

Before You Leave, Check This Out