Summer Cyanobacteria Monitoring

  Cyanobacteria, also know as Blue-green algae, has been know to bloom in various locations in the Charles River Lower Basin. These blooms can, at high enough concentrations, produce smelly gases and toxins (1), and cause skin irritations to swimmers who come in contact with it. .

The summer interns have been working hard since July to monitor the locations of historical blue-green algae blooms so that  we can alert the public of any possibility of adverse health effects(2).






Each Friday we have been visiting three spots along the Charles River in Boston:

 The MIT Sailing Pavilion

A stones throw from the Harvard Bridge in Cambridge, the MIT Sailing Pavilion is the western extent of our Lower Basin cyanobacteria monitoring.

The Esplanade

This section of the river is perhaps the most active area. Recreators can enjoy the Community Boating organization and the quite coves, which are prime zones for Cyanobateria blooms.

 The New Charles River Dam

Sitting quietly behind the Boston Garden and under the Zakim Bridge is the Charles River Dam. Here the Charles meets the Boston Harbor. Consequently this area can become a destination for floating trash and debris, creating a potential breeding ground for bacteria.

The summer of 2012 saw considerable amounts of Cyanobacteria, with large blooms occurring in the Lower Basin during August and through September. However, this summer August has come and gone and no algae blooms have been detected. Keep your fingers crossed that this trend keeps up!

You can find out more about identifying Cynaobateria when you are on the river using the Charles River Watershed's Cynobacteria Field Guide by clicking here.

But you must know, not ALL Cynobacteria is bad, read about how Children's Hospital is working on a healthier local anesthetic derived from a toxin found in Cynobacteria HERE!

(1) The Toxic Cyanobateria Home Page, Purdue <http://www-cyanosite.bio.purdue.edu/cyanotox/toxins.html>
(2) CRWA Algae in the Charles - http://www.crwa.org/water_quality/algae.html

Photos by Intern Pam