One of the greatest threats to the health of the Great Lakes is the increasing frequency of algal blooms, occurring in response to excess nutrients in the water due to a warming climate.
In response to the urgent need to better understand and mitigate human impacts on water quality, Dr. Nandita Basu, a civil and environmental engineering professor and Canada Research Chair in Global Water Sustainability and Ecohydrology, has been awarded a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Alliance grant for one such approach.
Basu's research is developing Poseidon, an innovative web-based water quality portalthat changes the way in which we monitor and analyze stream nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, loads, and landscape inputs, and will empower stakeholders with invaluable insights to drive conservation efforts.
"We cannot manage what we do not measure," said Basu. “Nutrient pollution management is challenging given limited water monitoring data and large gaps in available datasets. By combining comprehensive data and advanced analytics, Poseidon will empower scientists, policymakers, and communities to make evidence-based decisions and implement targeted interventions to address nutrient pollution effectively.
Go to New funding to support development of AI-powered nutrient load prediction system for the Great Lakes for the full story.