Blue-green algae is being monitored by researchers across Alberta, and the public can follow along from anywhere through a new website.
The Algal Bloom Tracker lets users track those toxic algal blooms at six lakes, with satellite imagery and lake sampling allowing the website to provide near real-time results that can be easily viewed on a free-to-use map.
Rolf Vinebrooke, one of the researchers behind the project, says the map is updated through satellites passing over Alberta lakes on a regular basis and capturing images of the water.
“A satellite image gives you a view of the entire lake so you exactly know what the nature of the bloom is like and what areas to avoid," said Vinebrook, an aquatic ecology professor at the University of Alberta.
How to stay safe on Alberta lakes when there's blue-green algae
Cyanobacteria, often referred to as blue-green algae, sometimes blooms in large numbers in nutrient-rich Alberta lakes during the summer.
Aside from creating visually distinctive green scum in water, these algal blooms can present significant health risks. Some are capable of producing toxins that can damage liver tissue if ingested, and can also cause neurological damage by interfering with nerve impulses.
"These things are so dynamic," said Vinebrook. "A bloom can appear in a matter of days, and equally, it can disappear in the matter of days as well.
"People aren’t on a lake every few days sampling, so the satellite actually enables us to track it much more closely than if you did it the traditional way."
Vinebrook says people planning to visit or participate in recreational activities at a lake can check the website to see if it currently is or recently has been plagued by a bloom. Users can also look at a lake's history over the past few years to see if it has a clean track record or a history of frequent outbreaks.
The tracker, currently a prototype that's been in development since 2017, is only active for six lakes: Ethel Lake, Lac La Biche, Nakamun Lake, Pigeon Lake, Sylvan Lake and Wabamun Lake.
Those lakes — all of which are popular for outdoor recreation — were chosen to represent a gradient of bloom frequency, ranging from Sylvan Lake, which rarely gets blooms and serves as a clean baseline, to lakes with highly frequent blooms, such as Lac La Biche.
Vinebrook says the team is working to expand the tracker to about 50 lakes across Alberta within the next three years.
When an excessive amount of blue-green algae is detected in a lake, Alberta Health Services issues a health advisory.
There are more than 25 currently in effect across the province.
