HABs Advanced Monitoring Pilot Project Summary

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NYSDEC/USGS HABs Advanced Monitoring Pilot: Project Summary

Purpose, Scope, and Objectives 

Monitoring data has been identified as a key component in harmful algal bloom (HAB) management because it supports outreach efforts, research, waterbody evaluations, model development as well as the ability to evaluate the success of restoration and mitigation efforts. In addition, monitoring data can help to define what is considered a HAB, evaluate impacts and risks related to cyanotoxins, and improve predictive capabilities. Monitoring can be used to better characterize HAB development, duration, and decline; factors associated with cyanotoxin production; and potential health risks.

Monitoring and evaluating HABs is difficult because HABs are variable in space, over time, with depth, and between lakes. To compound the typical challenges in monitoring HABs, the Finger Lakes present additional challenges due to oligotrophic or low nutrient conditions and generally low concentrations of background algae and cyanobacteria communities. As with any monitoring, to be effective for HAB research, waterbody evaluation, and management, monitoring approaches need to be:

  • Accurate and comparable with standard laboratory methods;
  • Applicable to a wide range of waterbody types;
  • Useful for management, including measurements of HAB extent, duration, toxicity, species composition, and impacts; and 
  • Cost effective.

To advance the state of HABs monitoring, NYSDEC initiated The HABs Advanced Monitoring Pilot, in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), to monitor and understand HABs in the Finger Lakes region. USGS and NYSDEC, in cooperation with NYSDOH, developed and implemented a comprehensive monitoring approach, utilizing four interrelated strategies in four Finger Lakes that have recently been affected by HABs. This pilot study was conducted on Owasco Lake, Seneca Lake, Canandaigua Lake, and Skaneateles Lake during fall 2018 to fall 2020. The objectives of the HABs Advanced Monitoring Pilot were to: 

  1. Better understand HAB development in the Finger Lakes using several approaches, which evaluate the occurrence of and contributing factors to HABs both within the lakes and their watersheds;
  2. Evaluate data to inform the development of an advanced HAB monitoring strategy for New York State, applicable Nationwide;
  3. Create a user friendly, publicly accessible web application for data dissemination and data analytics; and
  4. Publish data, technical reports, peer-review manuscripts, and present findings at scientific conferences and to the public to advance HABs knowledge and research.

These objectives were addressed through the implementation of four monitoring approaches:

Approach A. In-lake Continuous Monitoring with Automated Platforms and Discrete Sampling

Approach B. Tributary Discrete Sampling and Within-lake Nearshore Mapping

Approach C. Water and Biological Quality Sampling of Tributaries

Approach D. Intensive Lake Characterization of Northern Skaneateles and Northern Canandaigua lakes

Visualization of the four approaches used to measure HABs in study lakes and meet Pilot objectives
Figure. Visualization of the four approaches used to measure HABs in study lakes and meet Pilot objectives.

Summary of Major Findings, Date Products, and Publications

The following section provides a brief summary of the objectives and major findings of each of the four approaches of the HABs Advanced Monitoring Pilot. For more detail on any particular approach or its outcomes, please review the corresponding data products and publications. 

Project Findings

  • Novel sensors and techniques, analytical methods, passive samplers, and more were evaluated for this project resulting in numerous publications and data sources publicly available for further research;
  • The variety of sensors and techniques employed here were successful and insightful, but knowledge and monitoring gaps remain, prompting future research needs;
  • Mid-lake sampling was able to generally capture lake-wide conditions. However, cyanobacteria are often extremely patchy and isolated in space and time with higher levels of cyanobacteria or dense accumulations of HABs observed in small, nearshore areas (as compared with the open water of the study lakes);
  • Finger Lakes HABs were ephemeral and complex in space, depth, and over time but rarely seen in the open-water areas of the study lakes. Future studies that aim to characterize HABs in low nutrient systems should consider using multiple-faceted approaches, including advanced techniques such as remote sensing, machine-learning analyses, and companion data sets like volunteer surveillance observations or beach closure information;
  • The findings from these studies, including possible HABs indicators, will be useful for the ongoing monitoring and management of HABs in similar low- and moderate-nutrient lakes;

Summary of Objectives and Major Findings
  • This approach evaluated the ability of in-place sensors to make representative measurements of dissolved organic matter, nutrients, and algal and cyanobacteria indicators like chlorophyll and phycocyanin; 
  • Field parameters (water temperature, specific conductance, pH, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, weather, and light) were also collected to provide additional information about environmental conditions;
  • Despite challenges like power issues, sensor fouling, and data management, the algae and cyanobacteria sensors performed well overall; however, performance of sensors compared to lab measured values was variable among sensors and by lake;
  • Nutrient samples from all lakes compared well with other programs (for example NYSDEC’s CSLAP). Chlorophyll, phycocyanin, and cyanotoxin levels were generally low at the platforms with the majority of cyanotoxin samples being below the laboratory method detection limit.  
  • Statistical analyses between sensor readings and laboratory measurements revealed variable performances (accuracy and precision) among the sensors, but
    • Chlorophyll measurements from the sensors correlated moderately well with laboratory-measured chlorophyll;
    • Water temperature was among the strongest correlated with algal and cyanobacteria indicators;
    • Turbidity was a significant indicator of cyanobacteria
Data Products and Publications

Website and Data: 
A project web application was developed to provide an easy-to-use interface for viewing real-time data and accessing historical water quality and meteorological data collected for the Pilot. Archived data can be found here: (https://ny.water.usgs.gov/maps/habs/).

Data Release: 
Gifford, S. R., Stouder, M. D. W., and Finkelstein, K. M., 2023, Vertical Profiles of Water Quality and Light in Owasco, Seneca, and Skaneateles Lakes, Finger Lakes Region, New York, 2019-2020: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9385RR2.

Data Release: 
Perkins, S.R., Stouder, M.D.W., and Beaulieu, K., 2021, Phytoplankton Data from Owasco, Seneca, and Skaneateles Lakes, Finger Lakes Region, New York, 2019-2020 (ver. 2.1, June 2023): U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9TP9T1D.

Data Release: 
Johnston, B. D., Gifford S. R., Savoy P. R., Finkelstein K. M., Stouder M. D., 2023, Field Data for an Evaluation of Sensors for Continuous Monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms in the Finger Lakes Region, New York, 2018 – 2020. U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9046YOS.

Scientific Investigation Report: 
Johnston, B.D., Finkelstein, K.M., Gifford, S.R., Stouder, M.D., Nystrom, E.A., Savoy, P.R., Rosen, J.J., and Jennings, M.B., 2024, Evaluation of sensors for continuous monitoring of harmful algal blooms in the Finger Lakes region, New York, 2019 and 2020: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2024–5010, 54 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20245010.

 

Summary of Objectives and Major Findings
  • Nearshore mapping surveys were conducted on two lakes using boat-mounted sensors during summer (June and July) and fall (October) 2019 on Owasco Lake and Seneca Lakes; 
  • A similar but smaller spatial survey was conducted on Skaneateles Lake;
  • Nearshore concentrations of nitrate (a type of nitrogen) and chlorophyll in Owasco and Seneca Lakes were compared to measurements collected at the monitoring platforms (See Approach A); 
  • Nearshore conditions as measured by sensors were comparable to the open areas of the lake, when nearshore HABs were not present in these systems.
Data Products and Publications

Data Release: 
Stouder, M.D.W., Finkelstein, K.M., Rosen, J.J., and Beaulieu, K.M., 2022, High-resolution spatial water-quality and discrete phytoplankton data, Owasco Lake, Seneca Lake, and Skaneateles Lake, Finger Lakes Region, New York, 2018-2019: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P98P1VV6.

Scientific Investigation Report: 
Stouder, M.D.W., Gifford, S.R., Gutchess, K. M., Finkelstein, K.M., Johnston, B.D., Beaulieu, K.M., Rosen, J.J., and Foster, G. F. Spatiotemporal Variability of Algal Biomass and Nitrate in the Finger Lakes Region, New York, 2019. U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report. In editorial Review.

Summary of Objectives and Major Findings

Summary and findings will be available soon.

Data Products and Publications

Report:
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 2024. HABs Advanced Monitoring Pilot Streams Survey Data Report. Albany, NY. 118 p. In development.

Data Release:
Data available at the NYSDEC DOW Monitoring Data Portal: https://on.ny.gov/3WHi0Cj 

Summary of Objectives and Major Findings, Skaneateles Lake
  • This approach measured HAB indicators at multiple open-water and nearshore locations through visual observations, discrete sampling, and vertical water quality profiles to investigate HAB patterns over time using data from the current study and additional data from established surveillance and monitoring programs;
  • Traditional lake monitoring strategies focusing on the open water areas in the deepest part of a lake are useful for understanding and communicating about HABs in low-nutrient lakes, especially when paired with shoreline observations;
  • During the study, low levels of cyanobacteria concentrations were detected in the open water before shoreline blooms were reported; 
  • Sampling multiple times throughout the season is important to evaluate changes in chlorophyll levels and to document the changes in phytoplankton community over time;
  • There were no significant differences in the seasonal chlorophyll or cyanobacteria averages over the 2017-2021 period. The only year with a large, widespread bloom in Skaneateles was 2017 - which was the only year where the phytoplankton community was made up of more than 50% cyanobacteria in at least one sample.
Summary of Major Findings, Canandaigua Lake
  • Monitoring tools currently exist to monitor HABs in large, low-nutrient lakes but the approach used in this study was logistically challenging.
  • The integration of data from this study and existing, volunteer and agency monitoring programs was critical to meet study objectives;
  • The combined study datasets provided insights into the magnitude, duration, frequency, and timing of HABs in 2019, including impacts in the deeper waters;
  • Cyanobacteria developed in low concentrations in surface waters and measurements of cyanobacteria in the lake’s open areas were observed prior to nearshore and deeper in the water column;
  • Impacts lower in the water column were influenced by:
  1. cyanobacteria concentrations in the upper waters, 
  2. depth of sample and 
  3. thermocline depth;
Data Products and Publications

Data Release:
Data available at the NYSDEC DOW Monitoring Data Portal: https://on.ny.gov/3WHi0Cj

Peer-Reviewed Manuscripts:
Clinkhammer, A. C. Distribution of Phytoplankton and Microcystin Concentrations in Skaneateles Lake and the Representativeness of a Long-Term Monitoring Location. In development.

Peer-Reviewed Manuscripts:
Prestigiacomo, A. R., G., Gorney, R. M., Hyde, J. B., Davis, Courtney, & Clinkhammer, A. C. (2023). Patterns and impacts of cyanobacteria in a deep, thermally stratified, oligotrophic lake. AWWA Water Science (2023). DOI: 10.1002/aws2.1326

The Cyano-HABs Advanced Monitoring Pilot: Additional Information

Additional Publications

In addition to the direct publications and products from the Pilot, additional works relating to HABs research or publications that have used data from this study are presented below.

Bouma-Gregson, K., Byl, T.D., Carpenter, K.D., Christensen, V.G., Gorney, R.M. Graham, J.L., Heckathorn, H.A., Jaegge, A. C., Olds, H.T., Reilly, P.A., Rosen, J.J., and Stouder, M.D.W, Evaluation of Enzyme-Linked Immunoassay and Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Methods for Analysis of Cyanotoxins in Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking Samplers, U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report. (In Review).

Foster, G.M., Graham, J.L., Bergamaschi, B.A., Carpenter, K.D., Downing, B.D., Pellerin, B.A., Rounds, S.A., and Saraceno, J.F., 2022, Field techniques for the determination of algal pigment fluorescence in environmental waters—Principles and guidelines for instrument and sensor selection, operation, quality assurance, and data reporting: U.S. Geological Survey Techniques and Methods, book 1, chap. D10, 34 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/tm1D10.

Gifford, S., Stouder, M., and Beaulieu, K., 2023, Imaging Flow Cytometry Data for Live and Preserved Phytoplankton Samples from Owasco and Seneca Lakes, Finger Lakes Region, New York, 2020: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9D0QAB1. (in approval)

Gifford, S.R., St. Amand, A., Graham, J.L., Foster, G.M., Sauve, C., Clark, D., and Schroeder-Larkins, H., 2023, Comparison of Imaging Flow Cytometry and Traditional Microscopy for Freshwater Harmful Algal Bloom Detection Submitted to Lake and Reservoir Management. (In Press).

Johnston, B.D., Graham, J.L., Foster, G.M., and Downing, B.D., 2022, Technical note—Performance evaluation of the PhytoFind, an in-place phytoplankton classification tool: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2022–5103, 36 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20225103.

Legleiter, Carl J., Tyler V. King, Kurt D. Carpenter, Natalie C. Hall, Adam C. Mumford, Terry Slonecker, Jennifer L. Graham, Victoria G. Stengel, Nancy Simon, and Barry H. Rosen. "Spectral mixture analysis for surveillance of harmful algal blooms (SMASH): A field-, laboratory-, and satellite-based approach to identifying cyanobacteria genera from remotely sensed data." Remote Sensing of Environment 279 (2022): 113089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2022.113089 

Stouder, M.D.W, Boyer, G.L., Carpenter, K.D., D'Angelo, E., Gorney, R.M., and Rosen, J.J., 2024, Cyanotoxin Concentrations in Extracts from Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT) and Diffusive Gradients in Thin-Films (DGT) Samplers in Owasco Lake, Seneca Lake, and Skaneateles Lake, Finger Lakes Region, New York, 2019: U.S. Geological Survey data release, https://doi.org/10.5066/P9OZR89E. (In Review).

Johnston, B.D., Stouder, M.D.W., Gorney, R.M., Rosen, J.J., Carpenter, K.D., Wei, B., and Boyer, G.L., 2024, Evaluation of passive samplers for cyanotoxin detection by immunoassay and chromatographic-mass spectrometry: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report. (In Review).

Methods and Quality Assurance

All aspects of the Pilot operated under a strict quality assurance program with documented quality controls. Quality assurance documents describe the overall management of the Pilot as well as each approach’s implementation. These documents can be used by the scientific and regulatory community to develop similar HABs monitoring efforts in the future (available upon request).

Quality Assurance Documentation

  • Workplan

    1. Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring in the Finger Lakes Region, New York.

  • Quality Assurance Management Plans

    1. 2019 Quality Assurance Management Plan for Harmful Algal Bloom Advanced Monitoring in the Finger Lakes Region, New York

    2. 2020 Quality Assurance Management Plan for Harmful Algal Bloom Advanced Monitoring in the Finger Lakes Region, New York

  • Quality Assurance Project Plans

    1. 2019 Quality Assurance Project Plan In-lake Continuous Monitoring and Discrete Sampling  (Approach 1, 2).

    2. 2020 Quality Assurance Project Plan In-lake Continuous Monitoring and Discrete Sampling  (Approach 1).

    3. Quality Assurance Project Plan 2019 Intensive Lake Characterization, 2019 (Approach 4).

    4. 2019 NYSDEC Finger Lakes Tributary QA Documentation (Approach 3).

The objectives of the Pilot were met by collecting data through the four approaches (above) to better understand the environmental conditions associated with HAB development, duration, and decline. More detail on each approach can be found below.

Description of Study Areas

The four study lakes, Owasco Lake, Seneca Lake, Canandaigua, and Skaneateles Lake encompass a range of water quality and HAB conditions in the Finger Lakes. All four lakes are used for recreation, fishing, as a source water supply, and have experienced HABs since at least 2017. The similarities and differences among these systems, as well as the nature of HABs, make them an ideal group of lakes to test emerging technologies and conduct research to enhance understanding of the physical, chemical, and biological drivers of HABs in low-moderate nutrient lakes. For more information on these lakes, please see the 2018 Finger Lakes Water Quality Report or individual lake CSLAP water quality reports (CSLAP Dashboard).

Approach A. In-lake Continuous Monitoring with Automated Platforms and Discrete Sampling 

NYSDEC worked with USGS to install platforms equipped with water quality monitoring sensors in study lakes to collect near-real-time data in each waterbody. Near-real-time water-quality monitoring technologies were considered because their data is expected to greatly enhance our understanding of HAB dynamics, including an early indication of bloom development. The USGS has developed protocols and standardized methods for the use of advanced, near-real-time water-quality monitoring throughout the United States in Ohio, including the Great Lakes, Minnesota, and Kansas. 

Advanced water-quality instrumentation to collect continuous in-waterbody and meteorological data relevant to the understanding of HABs was deployed seasonally from September 2018 through October 2020:

  • 2018: September through January;
  • 2019: May through November;
  • 2020: June through October.

Each monitoring platform included the following components:

Automated platform on Owasco Lake

  1. Three multiparameter sondes deployed at shallow (1 meter below the water surface), mid-water column (at or near the photic zone interface), and near-bottom depths to characterize the water column. Sensors included:
    • temperature, specific conductance, dissolved oxygen, pH, dissolved organic matter, turbidity, and chlorophyll and phycocyanin fluorescence;
  2. A series of water temperature and light sensors approximately every meter from water surface to lake bottom;
  3. An optical nitrate analyzer at 1 meter below the water surface;
  4. An orthophosphate analyzer at 1 meter below the water surface;
  5. A multispectral algae and chlorophyll analyzer for algae differentiation at 1 meter below the water surface;
  6. A meteorological station approximately 3 ft above the water surface measuring air temperature, solar radiation, wind speed, wind direction, and humidity; and
  7. A web camera for live-stream and (or) time-interval photography to record bloom formation, which can be correlated with water-quality data.

Routine visits to inspect water-quality instrumentation and download data were conducted according to standardized protocols for field checks, calibrations, and thresholds for applying data correction related to fouling and drift. USGS guidelines and standard procedures for maintaining continuous water-quality monitors can be found in Techniques and Methods 1-D3. Standardized techniques for using optical instruments are presented in Techniques and Methods 1-D5. Data were telemetered directly to USGS and displayed in near real-time (15 to 60-minute interval data collection [except orthophosphate, which analyzes once every four hours] broadcast to the web once per 60 minutes) through the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS) and the project web application. 

Discrete water-quality samples were collected on 12 occasions between May–October 2019 and June–October 2020 from each platform following routine servicing of the monitoring equipment. Samples were collected at each of the three multiparameter sonde depths to compare in situ parameters with laboratory data. Samples were analyzed for a suite of physiochemical and biological parameters. The sensor data paired with in-waterbody sampling will help to better understand the nutrient dynamics, quantify HAB and cyanotoxin occurrence, and evaluate the utility of multiple types of monitoring data.

Approach B. Tributary Discrete Sampling and Within-lake Nearshore Mapping 

USGS conducted water-quality mapping surveys across three study lakes between August 2018 and October 2019. Each survey consisted of collecting high-resolution, nearshore data using multiparameter sondes and nitrate analyzers, paired with discrete water sample collection, around the circumference of each lake with an emphasis on sample and data collection at the confluences of major tributaries to the lakes. Laboratory samples were collected just below the surface for nutrient (inorganic forms of nitrogen and total nitrogen; total phosphorus and orthophosphate), dissolved and total organic carbon, and chlorophyll analyses. Multiparameter sondes and nitrate analyzers used for the mapping efforts were configured to match those deployed in the lakes at the open-water monitoring platforms to provide baseline data for lake-wide conditions, identify potential sources of nutrients not captured by tributary sampling, and identify areas with localized HABs.

  • A single open-water north-south transect, and nearshore synoptic survey were conducted on Skaneateles Lake on August 22 and 23, 2018, respectively. Both field efforts were paired with discrete sample collection at twelve unique sites, for a total of 24, in addition to quality assurance/quality control samples. 
  • In 2019, both Owasco Lake and Seneca Lake were surveyed on two occasions each – one early-season and one late-season – between June and October. Each survey was paired with the collection of discrete samples from twelve unique locations on each lake in addition to quality assurance and quality control samples. The same twelve locations were sampled on each respective lake during the early-season and late-season surveys. 

Approach C. Water and Biological Quality Sampling of Tributaries 

NYSDEC Monitoring and Assessment Section and the Finger Lakes Watershed Hub collected water-quality data consistent with protocols at multiple locations along the major tributaries to Owasco Lake, Seneca Lake, and Skaneateles Lake. The water-quality samples collected by the NYSDEC were analyzed by the NYSDEC contract laboratory and the data were used in interpretative reports on watershed water quality and to support assessment of the streams. To further support the analysis, data collected by regional partners that met quality assurance objectives were incorporated with the NYSDEC data for this approach.

Approach D. Intensive Lake Characterization of Northern Skaneateles and Northern Canandaigua lakes

This project was completed by NYSDEC Finger Lakes Watershed Hub and was designed to collect detailed temporal, vertical, and spatial data at multiple locations on both lakes, ranging from an open-water, long-term monitoring location to nearshore areas. Data collected included field parameters, trophic state indicators (nutrients, chlorophyll, and clarity), phycocyanin concentrations, and microcystin toxins. 

A major goal of this approach was to evaluate the formation and distribution of chlorophyll and cyanobacteria in low nutrient lakes, and determine the representativeness of open water, long-term monitoring locations to inform HABs monitoring, management, and education/outreach.

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