Eye on Lake Erie from high above

Published: Sunday, 8/10/2014 - Updated: 2 hours ago

BY TYREL LINKHORN BLADE BUSINESS WRITER

Satellite-imaging technology developed in northwest Ohio could be key to solving a problem that has long plagued environmentalists trying to get ahead of the toxic algal blooms that have poisoned waterways across the world.

Scientists widely recognize that algal blooms including the current one in Lake Erie are fueled by high levels of phosphorous and other fertilizers that have made their way into the water. However, its difficult to trace where those nutrients are coming from.

We all know its phosphorus thats the Miracle-Gro of cyanobacteria, said Milt Baker, chief executive officer of Blue Water Satellite Inc. Its being dumped into lakes, its coming off of farm-field runoff, combined sewer overflows, and leaky septic systems, but we dont know where. We have that answer here.

Using public satellite data and complex, proprietary algorithms, the Toledo firm can identify and measure a host of things, including water temperature, algal blooms, and phosphorus levels without ever setting foot in the field. Officials say their data have proved as accurate as traditionally collected field samples.

Weve moved the laboratory to the sky, Mr. Baker said.

A number of universities and government agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are experimenting with similar technology, but Blue Water claims to be the only commercial provider. Thats difficult to verify, but experts said know of no other companies doing what Blue Water does.

The science behind the process is the tendency of chemical compounds and organic matter to reflect a different light spectrum in a specific and identifiable way. That data is captured within satellite images, which are then processed by Blue Water.

Robert Vincent, a retired geologist at Bowling Green State University, began researching that possibility in 2002 and published a paper on it in 2004. He received a patent in 2005 for his method of finding and measuring phycocyanin-pigmented algae and cyanobacteria and since has developed ways to find and measure other materials.

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Eye on Lake Erie from high above