Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are overgrowths of algae or cyanobacteria in water and can be harmful to humans and animals directly via toxin exposure or indirectly via changes in water quality and related impacts to ecosystems services, drinking water characteristics, and recreation. While HABs occur frequently throughout the United States, the driving conditions behind them are not well understood, especially in flowing waters. In order to facilitate future national model development and characterization of HABs, this data release publishes a synthesized and cleaned collection of HABs-related water quality and quantity data for river and stream sites across the United States. It includes nutrients, major ions, sediment, physical properties, streamflow, chlorophyll and other types of water data. This data release contains files of harmonized data from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS). Continuous sensor data for 132 parameters (35 of which returned data) between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2022 were downloaded from NWIS programmatically. All data were harmonized into a shared format and grouped by generic parameters; data are in files named "daily_{parameter_grp}.csv", and the "pcode_group_xwalk.csv" maps parameter codes to parameter groups. Lastly, we include a "site_metadata.csv" containing site identification and location information for all sites with water quality and quantity data, and mappings to the National Hydrography Dataset flowlines where available. This work was completed as part of the USGS Proxies Project, an effort supported by the Water Mission Area (WMA) Water Quality Processes program to develop estimation methods for PFAS, harmful algal blooms, and metals, at multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are overgrowths of algae or cyanobacteria in water and can be harmful to humans and animals directly via toxin exposure or indirectly via changes in water quality and related impacts to ecosystems services, drinking water characteristics, and recreation. While HABs occur frequently throughout the United States, the driving conditions behind them are not well understood, especially in flowing waters. In order to facilitate future national model development and characterization of HABs, this data release publishes a synthesized and cleaned collection of HABs-related water quality and quantity data for river and stream sites across the United States. It includes nutrients, major ions, sediment, physical properties, streamflow, chlorophyll and other types of water data. This data release contains files of harmonized data from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS). Continuous sensor data for 132 parameters (35 of which returned data) between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2022 were downloaded from NWIS programmatically. All data were harmonized into a shared format and grouped by generic parameters; data are in files named "daily_{parameter_grp}.csv", and the "pcode_group_xwalk.csv" maps parameter codes to parameter groups. Lastly, we include a "site_metadata.csv" containing site identification and location information for all sites with water quality and quantity data, and mappings to the National Hydrography Dataset flowlines where available. This work was completed as part of the USGS Proxies Project, an effort supported by the Water Mission Area (WMA) Water Quality Processes program to develop estimation methods for PFAS, harmful algal blooms, and metals, at multiple spatial and temporal scales.

With increasing concerns about freshwater cyanobacteria blooms, there is a need to identify which waterbodies are at risk for developing these blooms, especially those that produce cyanotoxins. To address this concern, we developed spatial statistical models using the US National Lakes Assessment, a survey with over 3,000 spring and summer observations of cyanobacteria abundance and microcystin concentration in lakes across the conterminous US. We combined these observations with other nationally available data to model which lake and watershed factors best explain the presence of harmful cyanobacterial blooms. We then used these models to estimate the cyanobacteria abundance and probability of microcystin detection in 124,500 lakes across the CONUS. This dataset includes the compiled data used to generate the models and the dataset used to generate prediction for a much larger population of lakes. The data package includes two tabular data files, two tabular metadata files, and one methods document.

OLCI satellite data with CI_cyano algorithm quantify cyanobacteria. Air temperature, precipitation data from PRISM Climate group. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Schaeffer, B., N. Reynolds, H. Ferriby, W. Salls, D. Smith, J. Johnston, and M. Myer. Forecasting freshwater cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms for Sentinel-3 satellite resolved U.S. lakes and reservoirs. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 349: 119518, (2024).

OLCI satellite data with CI_cyano algorithm quantify cyanobacteria. Air temperature, precipitation data from PRISM Climate group. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Schaeffer, B., N. Reynolds, H. Ferriby, W. Salls, D. Smith, J. Johnston, and M. Myer. Forecasting freshwater cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms for Sentinel-3 satellite resolved U.S. lakes and reservoirs. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 349: 119518, (2024).

This dataset shows the concentration of cyanobacteria cells/ml in fresh water bodies and estuaries of the Ohio and Florida derived from 300x300 meter MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) satellite imagery. This dataset was produced through partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). This cyanobacteria dataset was derived using the European Space Agency (ESA) Envisat satellite and MERIS instrument. MERIS is a 68.5 degree field-of-view nadir-pointing imaging spectrometer which measures the solar radiation reflected by the Earth in 15 spectral bands (visible and near-infrared). MERIS imagery was used to identify long-wavelength spectral bands (from red through near-infrared portion of the spectrum) to locate algal blooms within freshwaters and estuaries of the continental United States. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Clark, J., B. Schaeffer, J. Darling, E. Urquhart, J. Johnston, A. Ignatius, M. Myer, K. Loftin, J. Werdell, and R. Stumpf. Methods for Monitoring Cyanobacterial Harmful Algal Bloom Frequency in Recreational Waters and Drinking Water Sources with Satellites. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 80: 84-95, (2017).

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are overgrowths of algae or cyanobacteria in water and can be harmful to humans and animals directly via toxin exposure or indirectly via changes in water quality and related impacts to ecosystems services, drinking water characteristics, and recreation. While HABs occur frequently throughout the United States, the driving conditions behind them are not well understood, especially in flowing waters. In order to facilitate future model development and characterization of HABs in the Illinois River Basin, this data release publishes a synthesized and cleaned collection of HABs-related water quality and quantity data for river and stream sites in the basin. It includes nutrients, major ions, sediment, physical properties, streamflow, chlorophyll and other types of water data. This data release contains files of harmonized data from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), and a USGS Open File Report (OFR) containing toxin data in Illinois (Terrio and others, 2013: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1019/pdf/ofr2013-1019.pdf). Both discrete data and continuous sensor data for 142 parameters (44 of which returned data) between October 1, 2015 and December 31, 2022 were downloaded from NWIS programmatically. All data were harmonized into a shared format (see files named data_{parameter_group}_combined.csv). The USGS NWIS data went through additional cleaning and were also grouped by generic parameters (see pcode_group_xwalk.csv to see what parameter codes are mapped to which generic parameters). Any data not from USGS NWIS were kept outside of the parameter grouping files. Additional streamflow data for select locations was retrieved from the USACE and are available in data_usace_00060_combined.csv. Additional algal toxin data provided by the IEPA and in a USGS OFR report (Terrio and others, 2013), which include some lake sites, are available in data_algaltoxins_combined.csv. We also provide collapsed datasets of daily metrics for each water quality (“generic parameter”) group of USGS NWIS data (files named daily_metrics_{parameter_group}.csv). Lastly, we include a site_metadata.csv containing site identification and location information for all sites with water quality and quantity data, and mappings to the National Hydrography Dataset flowlines where available. This work was completed as part of the USGS Proxies Project, an effort supported by the Water Mission Area (WMA) Water Quality Processes program to develop estimation methods for PFAS, harmful algal blooms, and metals, at multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are overgrowths of algae or cyanobacteria in water and can be harmful to humans and animals directly via toxin exposure or indirectly via changes in water quality and related impacts to ecosystems services, drinking water characteristics, and recreation. While HABs occur frequently throughout the United States, the driving conditions behind them are not well understood, especially in flowing waters. In order to facilitate future model development and characterization of HABs in the Illinois River Basin, this data release publishes a synthesized and cleaned collection of HABs-related water quality and quantity data for river and stream sites in the basin. It includes nutrients, major ions, sediment, physical properties, streamflow, chlorophyll and other types of water data. This data release contains files of harmonized data from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), and a USGS Open File Report (OFR) containing toxin data in Illinois (Terrio and others, 2013: https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2013/1019/pdf/ofr2013-1019.pdf). Both discrete data and continuous sensor data for 142 parameters (44 of which returned data) between October 1, 2015 and December 31, 2022 were downloaded from NWIS programmatically. All data were harmonized into a shared format (see files named data_{parameter_group}_combined.csv). The USGS NWIS data went through additional cleaning and were also grouped by generic parameters (see pcode_group_xwalk.csv to see what parameter codes are mapped to which generic parameters). Any data not from USGS NWIS were kept outside of the parameter grouping files. Additional streamflow data for select locations was retrieved from the USACE and are available in data_usace_00060_combined.csv. Additional algal toxin data provided by the IEPA and in a USGS OFR report (Terrio and others, 2013), which include some lake sites, are available in data_algaltoxins_combined.csv. We also provide collapsed datasets of daily metrics for each water quality (“generic parameter”) group of USGS NWIS data (files named daily_metrics_{parameter_group}.csv). Lastly, we include a site_metadata.csv containing site identification and location information for all sites with water quality and quantity data, and mappings to the National Hydrography Dataset flowlines where available. This work was completed as part of the USGS Proxies Project, an effort supported by the Water Mission Area (WMA) Water Quality Processes program to develop estimation methods for PFAS, harmful algal blooms, and metals, at multiple spatial and temporal scales.

Assessing temporal frequency of cyanobacterial blooms using imagery from the Sentinel-3A satellite sensor. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Coffer, M., B. Schaeffer, W. Salls, E. Urquhart, K.A. Loftin, R.P. Stumpf, P.J. Werdell, and J. Darling. Satellite remote sensing to assess cyanobacterial bloom frequency across the United States at multiple spatial scales. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 128: 107822, (2021).

Assessing temporal frequency of cyanobacterial blooms using imagery from the Sentinel-3A satellite sensor. This dataset is associated with the following publication: Coffer, M., B. Schaeffer, W. Salls, E. Urquhart, K.A. Loftin, R.P. Stumpf, P.J. Werdell, and J. Darling. Satellite remote sensing to assess cyanobacterial bloom frequency across the United States at multiple spatial scales. ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS. Elsevier Science Ltd, New York, NY, USA, 128: 107822, (2021).