US Citizen Scientists teach AI to recognise Harmful Algae Blooms

Last week ioLight completed our second webinar training citizen scientists in the USA to use the ioLight microscope to track Harmful Algae Blooms.

The State of New York (NY) has approximately 8000 lakes, managed by 200 Lake Associations. These are made up of residents living on the shores of the lake who have a strong interest in maintaining the health of their lake. Suspect algal blooms are reported to the NY Department of Environmental Conservation, which may issue an advisory notice closing the lake to recreational activities.

Professor Greg Boyer of the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) says that many of these blooms are in fact harmless, but diagnosis requires a microscope for visual identification. Lake Association members often drive long distances to bring samples to the lab in Syracuse NY to have their samples checked to ensure their lake is safe.

We have now trained a team of 16 Citizen Scientists who are taking images of algae to train an AI mobile phone app to differentiate between toxic and harmless species. One of the Clean Lake Alliance volunteers reported “I just wanted to say what a great device it is. I take it with me to the lake and capture wonderful images of lake algae. The link to the iPad works like a charm.” He also captured the picture below.

Once the AI has analysed large numbers of algae images it will be trained to deploy more widely for the next algae season in the summer of 2022. We anticipate delivering up to 300 ioLight microscopes to lakes across North America next year. This valuable work will protect visitors to the lakes and keep beaches open for leisure activities through the summer.