Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/R011605/1
NPIF allocation: Fluorometry for Rapid Eutrophication Status and Cyanobacteria Assessment (FRESCA)
Training Grant Award
- Lead Supervisor:
- Professor S Simis, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Remote Sensing Group
- Grant held at:
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Remote Sensing Group
- Science Area:
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Overall Classification:
- Freshwater
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Biophysics
- Fluorescence Spectroscopy
- Optical Biosensors
- Optical Devices & Subsystems
- Environmental Microbiology
- Water quality
- Ecological status
- Nutrient enrichment
- Water framework directive
- Water Quality
- Abstract:
- Blooms of cyanobacteria ("blue-green algae") are caused by nutrient-enrichment from the surrounding landscape and form a threat to water quality and economic and cultural value of inland water bodies worldwide. Many bloom-forming species of cyanobacteria produce toxins, which pose animal and human health risks - drinking water supplies have been known to close over trace amounts of cyanobacterial toxin. Remedial measures to improve lake water quality are costly whereas natural restoration following nutrient load reduction is slow. Water quality management authorities are required to monitor the cyanobacterial status of inland waters but frequent monitoring is expensive and the required laboratory measurements, while highly accurate, do not provide immediate (on-site) risk assessment. Optical monitoring devices are increasingly used as relatively low-cost early-warning systems in selected, vulnerable water bodies. Optical detection techniques include passive and active sensors for water colour (absorbed or reflected light) and active sensors to measure fluorescence of diagnostic pigments in algae and cyanobacteria. Semi-continuous, automated deployment makes it possible to relate trends in the observed optical properties to the establishment and bloom of the various phytoplankton groups. Such systems are, however, too costly to procure and maintain to be feasible for large numbers of water bodies including lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and estuaries. FRESCA will provide the theoretical basis, testing, and commercialisation of a cost-efficient and mobile fluorescence sensor that specifically probes cyanobacteria in the phytoplankton community. Cyanobacteria have evolved distinct photosynthetic mechanisms which recent studies have shown can be traced from their fluorescence response at different wavelengths (colours) of light, and which current sensors have not yet exploited and which require relatively complex sensor design and signal interpretation. The FRESCA sensor will target both the unique pigment properties of cyanobacteria, and probe photosynthetic mechanisms uniquely found in cyanobacteria. The combination allows to separate fluorescence from algae and cyanobacteria without assuming a pigmentation profile for either group, as is the case with currently available sensors. The sensor will be the first to combine measurements of fluorescence excitation and emission wavebands in a single mobile sensor, an innovation that yields reduced interpretation uncertainty and instantaneous risk assessment (biomass and potential for growth) of the cyanobacterial status of the water sample. Academic project partners are the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the University of Stirling, who already collaborate on the development of a global lake observatory from satellite and in situ observations, and have wide expertise on the biooptical properties of cyanobacteria. CASE partner is Chelsea Technologies Group Ltd, market leader in innovative fluorescence sensor design and manufacture and widely involved in phytoplankton fluorescence research. Research and development activities include laboratory experiments with cyanobacteria in culture using high-end benchtop sensors, optical modelling and simulation of fluorescence responses in natural communities, translating laboratory results into sensor design specifications, developing algorithms to interpret measured fluorescence excitation and emission signals,and field-testing of prototypes.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/R011605/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Doctoral Training
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- NPIF Allocation
This training grant award has a total value of £88,293
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| Total - Fees | Total - RTSG | Total - Student Stipend |
|---|---|---|
| £17,295 | £11,001 | £59,998 |
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