Identification of Algal Blooms through Satellite Imagery

In recent years, a number of harmful algal blooms have been reported in the Tsimlyansk Reservoir in the Azov Sea Basin. These blooms have been associated with environmental and economic concerns including major fish kills and problems with nearby water treatment facilities. In order to study this phenomenon so that steps can be taken to mitigate future occurrences, the Eutrophication in the Tsimlyansk Reservoir project was conducted at the Environmental Systems Laboratory at Central European University.

This project aimed to investigate the underlying causes of eutrophication and related algal blooms using underutilized information and communication technologies (ICTs) including remote sensing, GIS, and data portals. After developing a detailed land use classification of the region, the next step was to identify and assess algal blooms that could be identified through satellite imagery and explore the potential causal relationship between land use and the identified algal blooms. Algal blooms were identified from the available Landsat satellite images on the USGS Global Visualization Viewer (http://glovis.usgs.gov/). The image links below comprise the algal bloom events identified in the Tsimlyansk Reservoir from May-October 1990-2013. 

• 1990: July 14, August 15, September 9, September 25, October 11
• 1991: August 18, September 19, October 5, October 21
• 1993: July 6, September 24, October 10
• 1994: August 26, September 27, October 22
• 1995: August 29
• 1996: July 14
• 1997: September 19
• 1998: July 20, August 30, September 15
• 1999: October 3
• 2000: August 18, October 14
• 2001: September 6, October 1, October 8
• 2003: August 28, September 20, October 15
• 2004: July 5, August 29, September 7, September 14
• 2005: September 17
• 2006: June 16, August 11, August 19, September 12, September 13, October 6, October 7, October 14
• 2007: June 28, July 13, July 22, July 29, August 6
• 2008: September 2, September 9
• 2009: June 24, July 26, August 3, August 19, September 13, September 29
• 2010: July 30
• 2011: July 17, July 24, August 17, August 26, September 2, September 18, September 19
• 2012: August 3, August 19, August 20, September 4, September 12, September 13, September 21, September 29, October 22
• 2013: June 27, July 6, July 13, August 6, August 6, August 14, August 23, October 1, October 10