Scientists and water treatment plant operators throughout the region visited the UToledo Lake Erie Center last week to give their water quality sensors a tune-up so the smart buoy network is in sync when deployed to monitor algal blooms.
A key part of Lake Erie’s early warning system, the high-tech buoys operate as floating laboratories with data accessible in real-time.
Dr. Fausto Silva, left, a post-doctoral researcher at UToledo, and Shan Pushpajom Thomas, a Ph.D. student, use their equipment as part of UToledo’s $20 million COMPASS project, which aims to forecast the future of shoreline wetlands, uplands and ghost forests and their greenhouse gas emissions.
Dr. Thomas Bridgeman, middle, a professor of ecology and director of the UToledo Lake Erie Center, explains to local media how the technology is critical for tracking algal blooms in Lake Erie and giving water treatment plant operators ample time to respond.
Dr. Jeff Pu, right, water innovation post-doctoral research fellow with the Cleveland Water Alliance, cleans and adjusts the sensors in his YSI EXO sonde, a yellow and blue instrument consisting of several probes to measure various water quality parameters, including how much blue-green algae are present, water temperature, clarity, oxygen levels, turbidity and pH.
