Blue-green algae seen in marine areas earlier than usual

The warm weather in early summer and early warming of the sea water brought forward blue-green algae observations in the offshore areas of the Gulf of Finland, said Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) in a press release on Thursday.

This week has seen an increase in occurrences of surface algae along the Gulf of Finland coast.

In inland waters, there has been a slight increase in blue-green algae observations since last week, but the situation is typically calm for early summer.

SYKE observes the cyanobacteria occurrence as part of the monitoring of the state of the environment in Finland

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, municipal environmental and health authorities, and the SYKE. Finnish Rotary Clubs are also actively involved in nationwide cyanobacterial monitoring.

The cyanobacterial monitoring is based on the monitoring of cyanobacterial deposits in surface water.

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.

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.

SYKE reports on the national cyanobacterial situation on a weekly basis every Thursday from June 20 to August 8 August 2024. The weekly algal reporting was launched in 1998.