This Candidate Solution suggests the use of Aquarius sea surface salinity measurements to improve the NOAA/NCDDC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration s National Coastal Data Development Center) HABSOS (Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System) DST (decision support tool) by enhancing development and movement forecasts of HAB events as well as potential species identification. In the proposed configuration, recurring salinity measurements from the Aquarius mission would augment HABSOS sea surface temperature and in situ ocean current measurements. Thermohaline circulation observations combined with in situ measurements increase the precision of HAB event movement forecasting. These forecasts allow coastal managers and public health officials to make more accurate and timely warnings to the public and to better direct science teams to event sites for collection and further measurements

Anderson, Daniel

Hilbert, Kent

Lewis, David

NASA Technical Reports Server

1 
 
Solutions Network Formulation Report 
Integrating Salinity Measurements from 
Aquarius into the Harmful Algal Blooms 
Observing System 
June 1, 2007 
1. Candidate Solution Constituents 
a. Title: Integrating Salinity Measurements from Aquarius into the Harmful Algal Blooms Observing 
System 
b. Authors: Daniel Anderson, David Lewis, Kent Hilbert 
c. Identified Partners: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Coastal Data 
Development Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/National Ocean Service, 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
d. Specific DST/DSS: Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System 
e. Alignment with National Application: Coastal Management, Public Health 
f. NASA Research Results – Table 1: 
Missions Sensors/Models Data Product 
Aquarius Aquarius Sea Surface Salinity 
   
g. Benefit to Society: Better identification and mapping of HAB events to help manage coastal areas and 
benefit public health. 
2. Abstract 
This Candidate Solution suggests the use of Aquarius sea surface salinity measurements to improve 
the NOAA/NCDDC (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Coastal Data 
Development Center) HABSOS (Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System) DST (decision support 
tool) by enhancing development and movement forecasts of HAB events as well as potential species 
identification. In the proposed configuration, recurring salinity measurements from the Aquarius 
mission would augment HABSOS sea surface temperature and in situ ocean current measurements. 
Thermohaline circulation observations combined with in situ measurements increase the precision of 
HAB event movement forecasting. These forecasts allow coastal managers and public health officials 
to make more accurate and timely warnings to the public and to better direct science teams to event 
sites for collection and further measurements. 
3. Detailed Description of Candidate Solution 
a. Purpose/Scope 
Given the proper conditions, algae or phytoplankton can grow very fast or "bloom" in the sea and 
accumulate into dense, visible patches near the surface of the water. “Red Tide” is a commonly 
described observation that occurs when a specifically pigmented species of algae accumulates in 
sufficient quantities that it appears to discolor the surface of the water. The phenomenon of 
 
RELEASED - Printed documents may be obsolete; validate prior to use. 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20100003142 2019-08-30T08:41:38+00:00Z
2 
 
disproportionate toxic algal growth is known as a HAB (harmful algal bloom). Alarmingly, the 
frequency, extent, and severity of HAB events appear to be increasing (NCDDC, 2006). The Harmful 
Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act of November 13, 1998, recognized that many 
coastal areas suffer from HAB events each year. People can be sickened by eating contaminated 
seafood or by inhaling airborne algae, common problems during HAB events. HABSOS, a DST 
based at NOAA/NCDDC, is an integrated information and communication system for managing HAB 
data, events, and effects. HABSOS is used for identifying potential HAB events and for predicting 
movement to issue warnings and to direct missions for data collection and sampling. 
Algal bloom events, whether of toxic or non-toxic species, can have detrimental effects to local 
ecosystems. Even non-toxic algal blooms can seriously deplete oxygen levels at bottom water, 
leading to hypoxic stress and death in aquatic organisms. Harmful or toxic bloom events can be even 
more dangerous. Humans can become sick when they breathe HAB-laden aerosols near the beach. 
Because shellfish, zooplankton, and fish larvae feed on algae, each trophic level of the food chain is 
indirectly affected up to and including humans who consume seafood of all kinds. Toxins produced 
by harmful algae can cause myriad health problems in humans and have been linked to deaths in the 
United States and abroad. Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning, Ciguatera Fish Poisoning, Diarrhetic 
Shellfish Poisoning, Neurotoxic Shellfish Poisoning, and Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning are all linked 
to different species of toxic algae that occur in various coastal waters worldwide, including the United 
States (WHOI, 2007). Symptoms of these syndromes are generally gastrointestinal and neurological 
in nature and can be severe, even fatal. Large-scale monitoring programs have been designed to 
prevent mass outbreaks of any of the more lethal poisonings. HABSOS serves the public by providing 
critical information to managers in the form of early alerts of HAB events, timely forecasts of HAB 
movement, and predictions of when and where HABs are most likely to occur (NCDDC, 2006). HAB 
events also have economic impacts. Anderson et al. (2000) estimates that nearly $50 million USD 
annually are lost to public health costs, tourism shortfalls, and commercial fishing losses. 
Enhancements to HABSOS can benefit public safety and can help protect coastal ecosystems. 
b. Identified Partner(s) 
The National Coastal Data Development Center’s mission is to support ecosystem stewardship by 
providing access to the Nation's coastal data resources (NCDDC, 2007). To that end, the NCDDC is 
developing HABSOS through a partnership of federal, state, and academic organizations as a proof-
of-concept for a coastal observing system. While the HABSOS pilot project is initially focused on the 
Gulf of Mexico, the project will ultimately expand throughout the coastal United States. A Gulf-wide 
network of HAB experts, data providers, and data managers are organizing relevant data and 
information from across the Gulf into a regional format applicable to forecasting, establishing the 
process and network for linking and integrating multiple data types from multiple data sources, and 
establishing a Web-based presentation system subject to user feedback. The Web-based presentation 
system will provide tools to visualize and simulate conditions before, during, and after blooms and 
will demonstrate the benefits of timely data collection, integration, and information dissemination 
(NCDDC, 2006). The eventual goal is an operational HAB forecasting system as a component of the 
Gulf of Mexico regional ocean observing system. 
The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) also study the problem of HABs. The CDC 
have responded to congressional mandates to investigate the health effects of certain species of 
waterborne algae. The CDC also have a vested interest in collaborating with other partners that are 
studying and providing data about HAB events in an effort to fulfill their mission of expanding a 
system that tracks human illness associated with HABs (CDC, 2007). 
NOAA/NOS (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Ocean Service) also 
plays a role in monitoring and forecasting Harmful Algal Bloom events. NOAA/NOS places focus on 
 
RELEASED - Printed documents may be obsolete; validate prior to use. 
3 
 
research to determine environmental factors that trigger HABs and to predictHAB events (NOS, 
2007). 
The HABSOS DST already has several NASA sensor inputs. The Jason/Poseidon missions provide 
mean sea level data. QuikSCAT provides wind speed and direction. Overland-freshwater modeling is 
a key component to the DST as well because eutrophication from upstream agricultural processes is a 
major factor in bloom events. These same freshwater runoff models are used to estimate coastal 
salinity measurements. The salinity component of HASBOS can be augmented with Aquarius salinity 
data products, which support the HABSOS goal of providing coastal mangers and public health 
officials with relevant data for regional dissemination. 
While some forms of algae are able to thrive in dense salinity concentrations and others in light 
concentration, Aquarius measurements may help to define the range of intensity or dilution in which 
any one particular species is able to thrive and eventually “bloom.” More importantly, however, is the 
contribution that salinity gradients measured from Aquarius may make to forecasting bloom 
movement. These gradients may provide a level of understanding about the Gulf of Mexico Loop 
Current oscillation during warm summer months when the temperature in the Gulf is generally 
uniform and therefore less useful in modeling ocean currents. Also onboard the Aquarius mission is a 
scatterometer that can be used to derive ocean surface winds, further augmenting information related 
to ocean currents. Understanding the direction and pace of the Loop Current will serve both local 
public health officials and coastal managers by providing advance warning of approaching HAB 
events. 
c. NASA Earth-science Research Results 
Aquarius is a joint U.S. and Argentine (NASA – CONAE) mission scheduled to launch in 2009. It 
will carry a payload of three L-band radiometers and an L-band scatterometer. The swath width of the 
onboard instruments will be ~350 km with a spatial resolution of ~76 km x 94 km (finest of the three 
radiometers) and a spectral range of 1.413 GHz ± 13 MHz (passive). The repeat cycle of Aquarius is 
7 days. Aquarius’ specific science goals are to observe and model processes relating salinity 
variations to climate change and the global cycling of water and general ocean circulation (Parkinson 
et al., 2006). These science missions relate directly to the use proposed in this candidate solution. 
d. Proposed Configuration’s Measurements and Models 
Blooms can be caused by several factors. An increase in nutrients can cause algae growth and 
reproduction to increase dramatically and to develop into a bloom. For this reason, overland 
freshwater modeling is a major component to understanding the downstream effect of agricultural 
runoff on bloom events. Since Aquarius’ resolution will be too coarse for near-shore salinity 
measurements, the freshwater model and Aquarius salinity measurements should augment and 
complement one another. In other instances, something may change in the environment so that certain 
algae can out-compete the other algae for food, which can result in a bloom of the dominant algae. 
This environmental change can be related to the water quality, temperature, nutrients, sunlight, or 
other factors. Aquarius can help to understand salinity as one of the environmental factors 
contributing to HAB events. 
Thermohaline circulation models can also assist in predicting where known HAB events will move 
over time. Although the NCDDC analyzes various measurements to predict HAB movement, density-
driven circulation is not currently measured. While most research has focused on the temperature-
salinity relationship with respect to deep water ocean currents, freshening or salinization can also 
affect shallow, wind-driven circulation (Semtner and Chervin, 1992; Cooper, 1988; Fedorov et al., 
2004). In summer months, ocean temperature in the Gulf becomes more uniform and therefore less 
useful in modeling ocean current by itself. Aquarius salinity measurements along with sea surface 
temperature could provide identification of loop currents and other driving forces that are unique in 
 
RELEASED - Printed documents may be obsolete; validate prior to use. 
4 
 
the open waters. By using Aquarius salinity studies to better understand ocean circulation, HABSOS 
benefits from better HAB movement prediction models. 
4. Programmatic and Societal Benefits 
Harmful Algal Bloom events cause environmental stresses along the coastal areas of occurrence, 
including biomass accumulation, light attenuation, and hypoxia. HABs kill a variety of aquatic life, 
including fish, shellfish, and marine mammals (HARRNESS, 2005). In fact, The H. John Heinz III 
Center for Science, Economics and the Environment has called Harmful Algal Blooms one of the top 
three critical health indicators for the coastal ecosystems of the United States (The Heinz Center, 
2002). Consequently, this solution is strongly aligned with the Coastal Management National 
Application. 
HABs have also demonstrated the capacity to cause public health crises. With the increase in 
interstate and international transport of seafood, as well as international travel by seafood consumers, 
virtually no human populations are free of risk. Therefore, this candidate solution is also closely 
related to the Public Safety National Application. 
5. References 
Anderson, D. M., P. Hoagland, Y. Kaoru, A. W. White, 2000. Estimated Annual Economic Impacts 
from Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in the United States. 2000 WHOI-T-00-002 (WHOI 
Technical Report WHOI-2000-11), 101 pp. 
CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], 2007. Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). 
Department of Health and Human Services, http://www.cdc.gov/hab/pib.htm (accessed May 1, 
2007). 
Cooper, N. S., 1988. The effect of salinity on tropical ocean models. Journal of Physical 
Oceanography 18(5):697–707. 
Fedorov,
 
A. V., R. C. Pacanowski, S. G. Philander, and G. Boccaletti, 2004. The effect of salinity on 
the wind-driven circulation and the thermal structure of the upper ocean. Journal of Physical 
Oceanography 34(9):1949–1966. 
HARRNESS, 2005. Harmful Algal Research and Response: A National Environmental Science 
Strategy 2005–2015. J. S. Ramsdell, D. M. Anderson, and P. M. Glibert, eds., Washington, DC: 
Ecological Society of America, 96 pp. 
The Heinz Center, 2002. The State of The Nation’s Ecosystems: Measuring the Lands, Waters, and 
Living Resources of the United States. The H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and 
the Environment, Cambridge University Press, 288 pp. 
NCDDC [National Coastal Data Development Center], 2006. HABSOS: Harmful Algal Blooms 
Observing System. National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service; National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/habsos (accessed April 10, 
2007). 
NCDDC, 2007. Gateway to Coastal Information. National Environmental Satellite, Data, and 
Information Service; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 
http://www.ncddc.noaa.gov/ (accessed April 30, 2007). 
 
RELEASED - Printed documents may be obsolete; validate prior to use. 
5 
 
NOS [National Ocean Service], 2007. Harmful Algal Blooms. National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration; http://www.nos.noaa.gov/topics/coasts/hab/welcome.html (accessed May 31, 
2007). 
Parkinson, C. L., A. Ward, and M. D. King, eds., 2006. Earth Science Reference Handbook: A Guide 
to NASA’s Earth Science Program and Earth Observing Satellite Missions. National Aeronautics 
and Space Administration, Greenbelt, MD: Goddard Space Flight Center, pp. 95–98. 
Semtner, A., and R. M. Chervin, 1992. Ocean general circulation from a global eddy-resolving 
model. Journal of Geophysical Research 97(C4):5493–5550. 
WHOI [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution], 2007. What are Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs)? 
The Harmful Algae Page, http://www.whoi.edu/redtide/whathabs/whathabs.html (accessed April 
30, 2007). 
 
RELEASED - Printed documents may be obsolete; validate prior to use. 


Solutions Network Formulation Report. Integrating Salinity Measurements from Aquarius into the Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NASA Technical Reports Server