A quantity-distribution synthesized framework for risk assessment of algal blooms

Abstract

Algal blooms threaten water safety and quality, particularly in lakes with vulnerable environment and advanced urbanization. Due to low water exchange rate and multiple human activity influences, algal blooms in inland lakes display highly dynamic spatio-temporal distributions. This paper proposes a comprehensive framework for risk assessment of algal bloom coupling quantity and distribution based on remote sensing observations. The framework comprises algal bloom recognition, spatial zonation, quantity-distribution multivariate joint distribution construction, and risk assessment. The framework was applied to China's giant shallow and algae-prone lake, Chaohu Lake, to assess the annual algal bloom risk from 2000 to 2021. The results showed that this proposed method could achieve a more comprehensive and objective risk assessment by coupling the quantity and distribution of algal blooms. Furthermore, the internal dependence of algal bloom fluctuation in different zones was explicitly presented. This framework promotes systematic integration of algal bloom risk assessment, taking into account its highly spatio-temporal dynamic feature. It creates a quantitative approach to gain insights into the evolution of quantity and distribution in various environmental assessments.