Cyanobacterial blooms increase in lakes but remain calm in sea

The number of cyanobacterial observations in lakes has increased during the Midsummer week but the situation at sea remains calm, said the Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) in a press release on Thursday.

The number of cyanobacterial observations in inland waters has increased slightly since last week.

In sea areas, the cool water is keeping the amount of blue green algae relatively low for the time being.

The warm weather forecast for Midsummer is likely to increase the number of cyanobacterial blooms in the coming weeks.

The situation is typical for this time of year, although in some places, there have been more cyanobacterial observations than usual.

The national cyanobacterial monitoring is carried out as part of the monitoring of the state of the environment in cooperation with the Centres for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment (ELY Centres), municipal environmental and health authorities and the SYKE. Finnish Rotary Clubs are also actively involved in nationwide cyanobacterial monitoring.

Information on the cyanobacterial situation in the open sea areas is mainly obtained from satellite images, but also from the Finnish Border Guard, the marine research vessel Aranda, the optical device located at the Utö Atmospheric and Marine Research Station, as well as cruise and merchant ships (MS Finnmaid and MS Silja Serenade).

The drift forecasts for cyanobacterial rafts in open sea areas are prepared in cooperation with the Finnish Meteorological Institute's Maritime Services.

The cyanobacterial monitoring is based on the monitoring of cyanobacterial deposits in surface water, and the intention is to provide an overview of the cyanobacterial situation in different water bodies. The monitoring includes about 400 permanent observation sites across the country on inland and coastal waters and in the archipelago.

SYKE reports on the national cyanobacterial situation on a weekly basis every Thursday from the beginning of June until the end of August. The weekly algal reporting on the national cyanobacterial monitoring was launched in 1998.