Researchers Invent Low-Cost Method to Monitor Lakes for Airborne Toxins

DURHAM, NH - Researchers with the NH Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire have invented a low-cost method to monitor lakes for dangerous airborne toxins that have been linked to liver problems, according to a press statement.

Jim Haney, professor of biological sciences who directs the UNH Center for Freshwater Biology, and Amanda Murby, a doctoral student, have developed a highly portable system for collecting lake aerosols produced by cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae blooms. Cyanobacteria occur in freshwater lakes across New Hampshire and elsewhere. These harmful blooms produce toxins called microcystins. Exposure to large amounts of these microcystins can cause liver damage. Exposure to smaller amounts can cause breathing problems, skin irritation, upset stomach, and other gastrointestinal problems.

The researchers, who also have developed a system that can be used in the laboratory to measure aerosols from freshly collected water samples, detail their new detection method in the article “Field and Laboratory Methods to Monitor Lake Aerosols for Cyanobacteria and Microcystins” in the journal Aerobiologia.

To learn more about cyanobacteria blooms, visit the UNH Center for Freshwater Biology at cfb.unh.edu/. A short video about cyanobacteria in New Hampshire lakes is available at cfb.unh.edu/Movies/Cyanobacteria_Murby_web.mov. Click here to read the full news release: colsa.unh.edu/nhaes/article/2016/01/cyanobacteria

Caption: Doctoral student Amanda Murby monitors a lake aerosol collection system developed by UNH researchers on Lake Christine in Stark. Aerosolized cyanobacteria cells and toxins are collected on a fine glass fiber filter.