A brief overview of the issues faced by Harmful Algal Blooms along Johor straits

Urbanization of coastal areas worldwide has increased due to an increase in the global population. The production of sustainable aquaculture is greatly impacted by a surge of this urbanization. In certain countries, particularly for individuals with more limited space in metropolitan areas, such as along Johor's coastal area, aquaculture might well be a good strategy to maintain food availability (continuous production plus high-quality meals). Consequently, the adoption of aquaculture along the Johor's coastal area has lead to Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB). This paper examines the evolution of the aquaculture industry of Malaysian Johor coastal areas in relation to HABs. In addition to HABs, the aforementioned metropolitan regions confront diverse economic and geographical obstacles when attempting to increase their aquaculture production sustainably. Those problems are therefore addressed using a variety of operations as well as surveillance techniques in this brief overview. Lockdowns and border prohibitions caused by the continuous COVID-19 infection have had a global impact. These logistical difficulties in the seafood industry have increased dependency on imported supplies. It is suggested that international decision- making, supervision, and knowledge exchange can successfully solve the challenges urbanized areas have in ensuring sustainable food security through the evolution within the aquaculture sector.

The Effect of Harmful Algal Blooms on COVID-19 Patient Outcomes in Florida

Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in coastal and inland waterbodies release toxins which are known to have negative effects on local ecology and public health. Toxins released by Karenia Brevis and other phytoplankton are known to cause fatigue, muscle aches, neurological and respiratory illness in humans after exposure, which match those of COVID-19. A relationship between HABs and COVID virality could help explain the seasonality and unique symptoms in COVID-infections. COVID infection, hospitalization, and ICU usage data in the state of Florida were compared with instances of K. brevis blooms on a state and county basis. Results of correlation analysis indicate that blooms potentially correlated with increased hospitalizations compared to infections on a state-level. County level analysis was inconclusive. Due to broadness and complexity of subject, further investigation is necessary to fully understand how HABs and coastal ecology affect public health and virality of infectious disease. © 2022 IEEE.

Emerging investigator series: moving beyond resilience by considering antifragility in potable water systems

It is inherently difficult to plan water systems for a future that is non-predictive. This paper introduces a novel perspective for the design and operation of potable water systems under increasing water quality volatility (e.g., a relatively rapid and unpredicted deviation from baseline water quality). Increased water quality volatility and deep uncertainty stress water systems, confound design decisions, and increase the risk of decreased water system performance. Recent emphasis on resilience in drinking water treatment has partly addressed this issue, but still establishes an adversarial relationship with change. An antifragile system benefits from volatile change. By incorporating antifragility, water systems may move beyond resilience and improve performance with extreme events and other changes, rather than survive, or fail and quickly recover. Using examples of algal blooms, wildfires, and the COVID-19 pandemic, this work illustrates fragility, resilience, and antifragility within physicochemical process design including clarification, adsorption and disinfection. Methods for increasing antifragility, both individual process options and new system design tools, are discussed. Novel physicochemical processes with antifragile characteristics include ferrate preoxidation and magnetic iron (nano)particles. New design tools that allow for systematic evaluation of antifragile opportunities include artificial neural networks and virtual jar or pilot "stress testing". Incorporating antifragile characteristics represents a trade-off with capital and/or operating cost. We present a real options analysis approach to considering costs in the context of antifragile design decisions. Adopting this antifragile perspective will help ensure water system improved performance during extreme events and a general increase in volatility.

The Development and Deployment of a Programmable Water Sampling System Using an Autonomous Surface Vehicle

During January and February, 2021, SeaSatellites Inc, (Seasats) in collaboration with the Scripps Ecological Observatory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, conducted a series of sea trials to demonstrate the capability of collecting ocean water samples using a newly developed Programmable Water Sampling System (ProWaSS) that had been integrated into a solar/battery powered 3m (9.0ft) Seasats Autonomous Surface Vehicle. During the past decade there has been a steady growth in the number of autonomous surface vehicles being deployed to conduct a variety of missions ranging in duration of only a few hours to multiple days, weeks and in some cases multiple months. For many, the idea of deploying an autonomous surface vehicle for extended periods of time, in all- weather conditions while still performing the allotted tasks is a welcomed option. Alleviating the need to go to sea for long periods and now having seen the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic curtailing crewed ship activities, the autonomous surface and subsurface vehicle option has proven invaluable. Collecting water samples for microbial and eDNA analysis is key to better understanding the health of marine ecosystems. For example, knowing the location and density of organisms capable of producing a harmful algal bloom (HAB) is critical to predicting their landfall on beaches where they impact the health and safety of humans and marine wildlife with a potential for substantial financial loss due to closure of recreational and commercial enterprises on our coasts. One way to provide an early warning of HABs landing on coastal beaches is through regular offshore water sampling at HAB initiation sites. This can sometimes be challenging due to rough seas and the unavailability or expense of vessels. The Seasats autonomous surface vehicle equipped with a Programmable Water Sampling System (ProWaSS) allows sampling to commence when other types of sampling are difficult or impossible or crewed vessels are unavailable or operationally prohibited. Trials of the ProWaSS demonstrated the ability to repeatedly collect water samples at pre-determined GPS waypoints offshore of Scripps Pier, return to the pier where the Seasats vehicle was quickly and easily recovered and the samples sent to the laboratory for analysis. This paper and presentation describe the Seasats vehicle and the ProWaSS and presents the results of the water sample analysis provided by Dr Jeff Bowman and Elizabeth Connors from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, La Jolla, CA, and proposed further development to expand the ProWaSS to accommodate additional water samples and the inclusion of data from CTD and fluorometer sensors. © 2021 MTS.

Facing the Forecaster’s Dilemma: Reflexivity in Ocean System Forecasting

Unlike atmospheric weather forecasting, ocean forecasting is often reflexive;for many applications, the forecast and its dissemination can change the outcome, and is in this way, a part of the system. Reflexivity has implications for several ocean forecasting applications, such as fisheries management, endangered species management, toxic and invasive species management, and community science. The field of ocean system forecasting is experiencing rapid growth, and there is an opportunity to add the reflexivity dynamic to the conventional approach taken from weather forecasting. Social science has grappled with reflexivity for decades and can offer a valuable perspective. Ocean forecasting is often iterative, thus it can also offer opportunities to advance the general understanding of reflexive prediction. In this paper, we present a basic theoretical skeleton for considering iterative reflexivity in an ocean forecasting context. It is possible to explore the reflexive dynamics because the prediction is iterative. The central problem amounts to a tension between providing a reliably accurate forecast and affecting a desired outcome via the forecast. These two objectives are not always compatible. We map a review of the literature onto relevant ecological scales that contextualize the role of reflexivity across a range of applications, from biogeochemical (e.g., hypoxia and harmful algal blooms) to endangered species management. Formulating reflexivity mathematically provides one explicit mechanism for integrating natural and social sciences. In the context of the Anthropocene ocean, reflexivity helps us understand whether forecasts are meant to mitigate and control environmental changes, or to adapt and respond within a changing system. By thinking about reflexivity as part of the foundation of ocean system forecasting, we hope to avoid some of the unintended consequences that can derail forecasting programs.

Phytoplankton bloom detection during the COVID-19 lockdown with remote sensing data: Using Copernicus Sentinel-3 for north-western Arabian/Persian Gulf case study.

To examine whether a country-wide COVID-19 lockdown affected phytoplankton development, variability of chlorophyll-a concentrations in the north-western Arabian/Persian Gulf (Kuwait Bay) was investigated using remote sensing instruments Sentinel OLCI between 2018 and 2020 and compared to available in situ collected data. Satellite-retrieved chlorophyll concentrations considerably increased in inshore waters of Kuwait Bay, 1-2 months following the initiation of the 24/7 curfew. The extremely high concentrations of dissolved inorganic nutrients, especially ammonia, and coincided phytoplankton bloom were revealed in June-July 2020 by opportunity field sampling, supporting the satellite-derived bloom detection. Remote sensing operational monitoring with high spatial resolution sensors provides an exceptional opportunity for emergency analysis and decision making in conditions of natural or anthropogenic crises, which forces the development of regional remote sensing algorithms for the shallow marine environment of the Gulf.

Using Copernicus Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 data to monitor harmful algal blooms in Southern Chile during the COVID-19 lockdown.

During the southern summer of 2020, large phytoplankton blooms were detected using satellite technology in Chile (western Patagonia), where intensive salmonid aquaculture is carried out. Some harvesting sites recorded massive fish mortalities, which were associated with the presence of the dinoflagellate species Cochlodinium sp. The bloom included other phytoplankton species, as Lepidodinium chlorophorum, which persistently changed the colour of the ocean to green. These blooms coincided with the government-managed emergency lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Local in situ sampling was slowed down. However, imagery from the Copernicus programme allowed operational monitoring. This study shows the benefits of both Sentinel-3 and Sentinel-2 satellites in terms of their spectral, spatial and temporal capabilities for improved algal bloom monitoring. These novel tools, which can foster optimal decision-making, are available for delivering early alerts in situations of natural catastrophes and blockages, such as those occurred during the global COVID-19 lockdown.