Effort underway to develop a computer model for predicting toxin-producing marine algal blooms

Researchers have completed the first phase of development of a computer model that predicts when and where toxins produced by a common type of marine algal bloom can be expected to occur along the California coast.

The three-year modeling effort, led by the University of California, Los Angeles in collaboration with the University of California Santa Cruz, SCCWRP and the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System, builds off preliminary modeling work by UC Santa Cruz to understand the drivers and impacts of Pseudo-nitzschia on marine life. Domoic acid produced by the blooms can poison mammals and contaminate commercially important species like Dungeness crab.

Researchers’ goal is to build a mechanistic model that can accurately predict Pseudo-nitzschia blooms in coastal waters. The model will make use of a coupled physical-biogeochemical ocean model that predicts how land-based discharges affect coastal acidification and hypoxia.