Software Helps Search for "Red Tide"

---

A group effort is being used to develop new software to detect harmful algae in North American waters.

Yang Cai, PhD, a computer scientist at Carnegie Mellon University’s CyLab (Pittsburgh, PA), is developing the program in collaboration with NASA’s Earth-Sun System Technology Office, located at the Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (Washington, DC).

The software uses spatiotemporal data mining — which extracts spatial patterns from continuous data flow — to track harmful ocean elements, better known as red tide. Red tide includes the algae Karenia brevis, which forms in the Gulf of Mexico. The algae release deadly toxins into the water, killing fish and marine mammals and emitting irritating vapours. In addition, if the algae are present in unmanaged shellfish, they present a potential health danger to humans when consumed.

Cai’s program scans images from NASA’s SeaWiFS satellite and oceanographic data from the NOAA to search for red tide algae. Currently, NOAA researchers have to scan thousands of images manually to determine algae levels and locations.