NRI: FND: COLLAB: RAPID: Targeted Sampling of an Unanticipated Harmful Algal Bloom in Lake Anna, Virginia with Aerial and Aquatic Robots

2019年8月初，弗吉尼亚州安娜湖出现了意想不到的有害藻华（HAB）。安娜湖是弗吉尼亚州最大的淡水水库之一，需要进行研究，以了解威胁，管理风险，减轻事故，发展能力，并加强我们的水安全和保障合作。空中和水上机器人将与VDH和DEQ的健康和水质专家一起工作，以(1)帮助告知他们的定期采样工作，(2)提供关键和及时的信息，以指导监管决策。安娜湖的有害藻华仍在继续，预计将持续到安娜湖第一次结冰。一旦第一次冻结发生，大多数蓝藻会爆炸并卸载大量毒素，需要进一步分析。自从第一份关于安娜湖有害藻华（HAB）的报告发布以来，据报道，藻华愈演愈烈，弗吉尼亚州卫生部（VDH）发布了多次警告。最新的VDH咨询（2019年9月20日发布）显示，有害藻华向湖的北部分支延伸。VDH的建议部分基于VA环境质量部（DEQ）的水质数据，该部门从湖上的一系列站点（GPS航路点，使用有人驾驶的船手工采集样本）收集样本。研究小组将与水质专家（DEQ和VDH）合作，使用空中机器人（配备多光谱传感器的无人机，用于对水华进行成像和取样装置）和水生机器人（配备水下GPS的远程操作水下航行器，用于跟踪原位羽流的传感器，以及收集水下样本的装置）对安娜湖的有害藻华进行有针对性的收集。这些样本将被分析毒素和营养物质，数据将与水质专家和安娜湖公民协会的成员共享。基于10年来俄亥俄州圣玛丽大湖的季节性毒素数据，研究小组假设：(1)弗吉尼亚州安娜湖的有害藻华将继续发展，并在即将到来的冬季产生高水平的毒素；(2)空中和水生机器人可以识别、定位和采样湖中有害藻华的目标区域。该项目的具体目标是：(1)使用空中和水上机器人瞄准弗吉尼亚州安娜湖的有害藻华，并在战略位置收集样本；(2)确定与人类一起工作的机器人收集的样品中的毒素浓度和营养负荷。这些信息对于确定时间敏感的健康咨询以及居住在湖内和周围的社区至关重要。这项工作还将显示无人系统的价值，以协助利益相关者跟踪水中的有害藻华；由此产生的现场测试技术将为决策者提供协作机器人，可以提供有关环境中有害藻华扩散的快速和详细信息。安娜湖的有害藻华仍在继续，预计将持续到安娜湖第一次结冰。一旦第一次冻结发生，大多数蓝藻会溶解并卸载大量的蓝藻毒素。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

An unanticipated harmful algal bloom (HAB) appeared in Lake Anna, Virginia in early August, 2019. Lake Anna is one of the largest freshwater reservoirs in VA. Research is needed to understand threats, manage risks, mitigate incidents, develop capabilities, and strengthen collaborations for our water safety and security. Aerial and aquatic robots will work alongside health and water quality experts from VDH and DEQ to (1) help inform their regular sampling efforts, and (2) provide critical and timely information to guide regulatory decisions. The HAB is still going at Lake Anna, and it is expected to continue until the first freeze at the Lake. Once the first freeze occurs, most of the cyanobacteria will explode and unload a large amount of toxins, requiring further analysis.Since the first report of the harmful algal boom (HAB) on Lake Anna, the bloom has reportedly intensified, and the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has issued multiple advisories. The most recent VDH advisory (issued on Sept 20, 2019) showed the HAB extending down both northern branches of the lake. The VDH advisories are based in part on water quality data from the VA Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), which collects samples from a series of stations (GPS waypoints where a manned boat is used to collect samples by hand) across the lake. The research team will work alongside water quality experts (DEQ and VDH) to make targeted collections of the HAB at Lake Anna using aerial robots (a drone equipped with multispectral sensors to image the bloom and a device to sample the water) and aquatic robots (a remotely operated underwater vehicle equipped with underwater GPS, sensors to track the plume in situ, and a device to collect underwater samples). These samples will be analyzed for toxins and nutrients, and the data will be shared with water quality experts and members of the Lake Anna Civic Association. Based on 10 years of seasonal toxin data for Grand Lake St. Marys in Ohio, the research team hypothesize that (1) the HAB at Lake Anna, VA will continue to progress and produce high toxin levels through the coming winter months and (2) aerial and aquatic robots can identify, localize, and sample targeted areas of the HAB in the lake. The specific objectives of this project are to (1) use aerial and aquatic robots to target the HAB in Lake Anna, VA and collect samples at strategic locations; and (2) determine toxin concentrations and nutrient loads in samples collected by robots working alongside humans. This information is critical for determining time-sensitive health advisories, and for the communities of people that live in and around the lake. This work will also show the value of unmanned systems to assist stakeholders in tracking HABs in the water; resulting field-tested technology will provide decision-makers with co-robots that can provide rapid and detailed information on the dispersal of HABs in the environment. The HAB is still going at Lake Anna, and it is expected to continue until the first freeze at the Lake. Once the first freeze occurs, most of the cyanobacteria will lyse and unload a copious amount of cyanotoxins.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.