The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in November discovered Lake George\u2019s first harmful algal bloom (HAB) in Harris Bay.
\nThe Jefferson Project at Lake George, a collaboration between RPI, IBM Research, and the nonprofit FUND for Lake George, immediately deployed resources to examine the situation.
\nMore than 20 researchers collected water samples from across the lake for sophisticated chemical, biological, and computer modeling analyses. They also deployed advanced sensors around the lake (including Harris Bay), officials said.
\nThe algal bloom was first observed in Harris Bay on Nov. 7 and dissipated that same day, according to the FUND for Lake George. Additional blooms appeared on Monday, Nov. 9, in Harris Bay, Sandy Bay, Warner Bay, and near shore waters off of Lake George Village, all of which dissipated within 24 hours.
\nIt was verified that the threshold of cyanobacteria concentrations in excess of 25 micrograms per liter were present. IBM and RPI supercomputers and researchers began computationally modeling recent weather and water circulation at all levels of the lake.
\nAll of this effort, officials said, is aimed at answering three critical questions.
\n\u201cThe first question is: Was this a natural event or is this an early warning sign of human activities impacting the lake, due to factors like increasing nutrients or global climate change? Our rapid response to the recent HAB event in Lake George and similar occurrences in lakes across New York state puts us in a unique position to answer those questions and provide insights to decision makers,\u201d said Dr. Rick Relyea, director of The Jefferson Project and a professor of biological sciences at RPI.
\nThe initial results confirm the widespread existence of dolichospermum fuscum\u2014a cyanobacteria commonly found in Lake George and other lakes in abundance below the lake\u2019s surface in autumn\u2014in high concentrations in the recent surface blooms.
\nThe algae are known to have little pouches that make it possible for them to float in the deep waters of the open lake, but its buoyancy is so weak that it can only rise to the surface under extremely calm conditions, according to researchers.
\n\u201cSince dolichospermum requires at least two days to reproduce, the high density of cyanobacteria observed in Lake George indicates that the algae were likely growing for many days or weeks in the cool water before surfacing.
\nThis surfacing during the HAB was likely enabled by calm water conditions and then driven into these bays and near shore waters off of Lake George Village by wind or water currents according to preliminary computer models\u201d said Dr. Harry Kolar, Jefferson Project associate director and IBM fellow. \u201cFurther work continues on the sources of the algae and nutrients required to trigger and sustain the bloom, including the lake bed and watershed runoff.\u201d
\n\u201cThe second important question is: Was this a toxic bloom?\u201d Relyea said. \u201cSome dolichospermum species are capable of producing toxins that irritate the skin and can harm the liver and nervous system and hence we need to know whether the Lake George HAB was toxic (as seen in other lakes).\u201d
\nAnalysis by the Jefferson Project water sample has confirmed the initial results of DEC. Toxins were not detected.
\n\u201cThe third critical question then remains: While not observed in this bloom, could toxic blooms occur in the future on Lake George?\u201d Relyea said.
\nJefferson Project research is now fully investigating and delving deeply into the drivers of toxicity in these algae, he said. The work is leveraging RPI\u2019s Center for Biotechnology & Interdisciplinary Studies (CBIS), coupled with IBM\u2019s and RPI\u2019s most advanced sensor networks and supercomputing, which officials said is the most powerful ever deployed on any freshwater ecosystem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in November discovered Lake George\u2019s first harmful algal bloom (HAB) in Harris Bay. The Jefferson Project at Lake George, a collaboration between RPI, IBM Research, and the nonprofit FUND for Lake George, immediately deployed resources to examine the situation. More than 20 researchers collected water samples from across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":196,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n