monitor remotely to verify the presence of an early cyanoHAB and take precautions to pro- tect public health. In 2017, CyAN satellite data were used to support environmental managers around Utah Lake, a recreational lake known for occasional cyanoHABs. A few weeks before the Fourth of July holiday, data from CyAN identified the beginning of a cyanoHAB. Local ocials responded by sampling the lake water and confirmed that cyanobacte- rial toxins were present. State ocials then issued an advisory cautioning residents about the cyanoHAB (Utah Department of Environ- mental Quality, 2023). Resources for the Future, an independent, nonprofit research institution, reported that the Utah Lake advisory that was initiated by CyAN data protected human health and saved the community $370,000 in health- care costs for this single cyanoHAB event (Robertson & Kuwayama, 2020; Stroming et al., 2020). Building on the success of the CyAN mobile app, U.S. EPA released the web-based CyANWeb application in 2021. CyANWeb is a flexible application that runs on com- monly used internet browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox) and makes CyAN data available across operating systems and hardware, from phones to tablets and laptops (Figure 1; U.S. EPA, 2024a). CyANWeb provides lake statistics, real-time data, and the abil- ity to drop pins on water bodies and loca- tions within water bodies of interest (Fig- ure 2). Additionally, current bloom status and trends and archived cyanoHAB data are available and summarized. CyANWeb sub- stantially lowers the barriers to using satel- lite data for lake management and public health decision-making. Next Steps As important as real-time cyanoHAB detec- tion is to water managers, what if there was an ability to forecast cyanoHABs before they occurred? The timing and location of cyano- HAB events are important for water quality management, yet until recently, no quanti- tative tool existed to forecast these events across U.S. lakes. Forecasting cyanoHABs has been a challenge because of the complex con- ditions across the U.S. for each lake Forecasting cyanoHABs might now be pos- sible with a new scientific approach developed
FIGURE 1
Screenshot of the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network Mobile Application (CyANWeb) Interface
Note. CyANWeb provides lake statistics, real-time data, and the ability to drop pins on water bodies and locations within water bodies of interest.
FIGURE 2
Screenshot of the Cyanobacteria Assessment Network Mobile Application (CyANWeb) Interface With Dropped Pins for Water Bodies of Interest
Note. CyANWeb is a flexible application to view satellite data that runs on commonly used internet browsers (e.g., Chrome, Firefox) and makes CyAN data available across operating systems and hardware, from phones to tablets and laptops.
cyanobacteria estimates from earth-orbiting satellites for large lakes and reservoirs of interest to public health professionals and
lake managers. During the COVID-19 pan- demic, CyAN data were even more crucial as an early warning system so field crews could
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May 2024 • Journal of Environmental Health
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