Jaylee

Conlin
PI: Raphael Kudela
Mentor: Jennifer Broughton

Florida Red Tide

Lake Eerie- Blue Green Algae

(Cyanobacteria)

Microcystis = blue-green
algae

Microcystin = hepatotoxin
produced by microcystis

World Health Organization: 1 g/L in drinking water

California: 0.8 g/L for recreational exposure

! 1994 Study: lethal doses in mice

! Oral ingestion: 3000 g/kg

12x less
! Nasal Inhalation: 250 g/kg

Fitzgeorge et al. 1994

! Find water bodies with Microcystin

! Model the transport of the toxin
! Look at concentrations

1st: Find
cyanobacteria
! MSLH- Master
Scattering Line
Height
! AVIRIS Images-
224 bands
! Band Math and
Density Slicing

! Aphanizomenon- non toxic

! Aphanizomenon -> Mixed -> Microcystis

2nd: What kind of bloom?

! AMI: Aphanizomenon-Microcystis Index
Ramer Lake

! 2 Major Findings
! Most blooms are non-toxic with a

few mixed blooms

! Lots of lakes and an unknown water

body have high MSLH values

Ramer Lake, San Jacinto River, Lake Elsinore, Finney

Lake, Unknown Area, Pinto Lake

! 2 Types: Particle vs. Dispersion

! Estimate biomass using phycocyanin (g/L)

! Phycocyanin = 3.9073x + 24.443
! X = MSLH value
! Dissolved Microcystin(g/L)
! Dissolved Microcystin=0.115x + 0.158
! X = Phycocyanin concentration
! Aerosolized Microcystin (ng/m3)
! Brevetoxins as a proxy similar size/structure

! Multiple water bodies identied as having

large MSLH values with AMI values indicating

pure Aphanizomenon and mixed blooms

! HYSPLIT shows concentration amounts to be

low but signicant after only 4 hours

! MSLH algorithm seems to break down in

some water bodies

! Jennifer Broughton
! Raphael Kudela
! Nick Heath