Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID IN_2025_Simsek

Identifying and quantifying harmful algal blooms using machine learning techniques integrated with hyperspectral image data

Institute: Indiana
Year Established: 2025 Start Date: 2026-01-01 End Date: 2026-12-31
Total Federal Funds: $30,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $30,013

Principal Investigators: Halis Simsek

Project Summary: Excess nutrients in freshwaters can stimulate the growth of harmful algal blooms (HABs), which rapidly accumulate when the optimum environmental conditions are met. HABs are especially important in water bodies if the water source has been used as municipal drinking water supplies. Nutrient over-enrichment in freshwaters is linked to human activities, including agricultural uses of fertilizer, application of manure, discharge of municipal wastewater, and discharges from industries. In this proposal, the hyperspectral and true color images of HABs will be captured, and the type and concentration of HABs in the lake environment will be determined using mathematical modeling tools. With this technique, we will be able to provide a rapid and non-destructive method to assess toxin-producing cyanobacteria in Indiana lakes without having laboratory experiments.