Ohio universities get millions for algal bloom research

SANDUSKY — Universities in Ohio are carrying out millions of dollars in research to figure out how to cope with harmful algal blooms in Lake Erie, the executive director of Stone Laboratory and Ohio Sea Grant said.Chris Winslow, executive director of Stone Lab, gave an update on research at last week's harmful algal bloom forecast, hosted by Stone Lab at its Aquatic Visitors Center in Put-in-Bay. Scientists predicted the HAB this year would be a 7.5, much larger than last year's.The work that is being done is not just research for the sake of science, but are projects that address problems confronting Ohioans as the result of the blooms, including learning more about how to produce safe drinking water, assessing the impact toxin-producing blooms might have on human health and studying how blooms behave, Winslow said.According to an Ohio Sea Grant page on the Ohio Department of Higher Education Harmful Algal Bloom Research Initiative, the research program began after Toledo's water crisis in August 2014.The Ohio Department of Higher Education responded by allocating $2 million to state universities. Matching money from the schools raised the total amount of research money to more than $4 million.Since 2015, there have been new rounds of research, with $7.5 million allocated to study Lake Erie's algal blooms.Here are some examples of the research, listing only some of the studies being carried out:• Detecting and mapping harmful algal blooms in Sandusky Bay, an effort led by George Bullerjahn at Bowling Green State University.• Identifying the best strategies for reducing phosphorus runoff into Lake Erie. That's led by Laura Johnson at Heidelberg University and Paula Mouser at Ohio State University.• Examining the danger of being exposed to algal bloom toxins from eating fish caught in Lake Erie. That study is led by Stuart Ludsin of Ohio State University.• Investigating alternative methods for removing algal bloom toxins from water filter plants. The study is led by Youngwoo (Young) Seo at the University of Toledo and Isabel Escobar, University of Kentucky.• Studying the best way to use activated carbon to remove bloom toxins from the water. Activated carbon is commonly used by water plants such as Sandusky's. The study is being led by John Lenhart at Ohio State University.• Using cyanophages to destroy the cyanobacteria that cause harmful algal blooms. Cyanophages are viruses that attack cyanobacteria such as Microcystis, which causes Lake Erie's largest bloom. The study is led by Jiyoung Lee at Ohio State University.Some of the results of the ongoing research will be discussed at an "Understanding Algal Blooms: State of the Science Conference" scheduled for Sept. 12 at Stranahan Theater Great Hall in Toledo.A wave crashes over the rocks near Lake Front Park in Huron on Tuesday, March 26, 2019.