L2M – Satellite Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Tool for Harmful Algae Bloom identification: introducing SMART-HAB, a machine-learning tool to identify and visualize harmful algae blooms in near-real time.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are a growing threat to drinking water, fisheries, public health, and recreation. In recent years, HABs have increased in frequency and severity in both freshwater and marine environments. Blooms are hard to monitor because they can occur unexpectedly, and reporting methods across Canada are inconsistent, creating a patchwork of alerting methods for industry and public sectors to rely on. Funding to monitor HAB activity is increasing, but current methods are expensive and time consuming. Field teams are limited by water quality testing capacity, and even buoys with remote sensors monitoring water quality can only test water that interacts with the device.

Our team is developing an addition to the HAB monitoring and alert network with the Satellite Monitoring and Reporting Tool for HAB identification (SMART-HAB). SMART-HAB uses satellite imagery with high temporal and spatial resolution to identify potential HABs in Canadian waters using machine learning algorithms. This application can greatly increase monitoring groups’ capabilities by showing users where HABs are occurring, saving both time and resources. SMART-HAB has experienced success in estimating bloom severity, and has been positively correlated to in-situ measurements of cyanobacteria blooms. We hope that SMART-HAB can be used across the country to create a consistent, widespread monitoring network, and alert users in near-real time of HAB activity, severity and extent. With the help of Mitacs and Springboard Atlantic Inc., we are refining our product for future users to prepare SMART-HAB for market.

Faculty Supervisor:

Christopher Whidden

Student:

Partner:

Springboard Atlantic Inc.

Discipline:

Computer science

Sector:

Aquaculture and Fishing; Artificial Intelligence; Environmental Science and Technology

University:

Dalhousie University

Program: