New technologies are changing the way we monitor pollution in the environment. EPA is studying innovative technologies that will measure nutrient pollution in the air and water using:

• Satellites
• Portable and ground remote sensors
• Measurement and model data

The reasons for unhealthy water quality are vast. Poor water quality has numerous impacts on ecosystems. These technologies enhance current monitoring activities and provide faster and more cost-effective information on nutrients and other pollutants in our water bodies. The duration and frequency of harmful algal blooms, which trend during warm weather months, is one indicator of poor water quality. Having the ability to monitor and provide timely response to harmful algal blooms and other pollutants would be one step toward protecting the benefits people receive from good water quality.

Related Links

• EPA Innovation
• East Fork Watershed Research Collaboration and Data
• Data Mining and Harmful Algal Blooms
• Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN) Project
• NASA's SeaWiFS Project
• Modeling the Links Between Discharge and Nutrients from the Mississippi River Basin to the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia
• Biosensor for Cyanotoxins and Cyanobacteria Using Both Antibodies and DNA