Scoop, Spin, Or Sink: Targeting New Mexico’s Cyanobacteria Blooms

Harmful algal blooms (HABs), usually caused by cyanobacteria, show up in lakes every summer and cause harm to people, pets, and wildlife. These have become more common in the desert Southwest as climate change has altered our water flow. Current methods of testing and mitigation include collecting water samples and testing for the harmful toxins produced by HABs, then collecting the scum algae feed on, using pulses of ultrasonic waves, or, in the most extreme cases, flocculants and other chemicals. Over the long-term, HABs can be prevented by fostering plants to filter water, increasing circulation in waterways, and reducing or eliminating agricultural run-off. Our project is aimed at adapting models predicting HABs for our unique desert environment. Once our model is refined, we plan to expand it into OBLM ("one big lake model"), which will include variable microenvironments. We will then run simulations to identify the best bloom mitigation strategies for each microenvironment. We will also design and build an autonomous vehicle to collect samples and return to shore for strip testing. It will function as a proof of concept for a fully autonomous version that operates independently and finds, tracks, and deploys mitigation strategies to manage blooms. Our hope is to produce a more effective solution for a problem that will likely continue to get worse as temperatures rise and water becomes more scarce.