MONITORING HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOM IN THE BALTIC SEA: HAB-RISK SERVICE

In recent years, severe cyanobacterial blooms have occurred in the Baltic Sea during the summer season, forcing local authorities in Poland and other Baltic countries to close bathing areas for several weeks.

The HAB-RISK consortium has developed a service for the Baltic Sea that provides daily detection of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and drift forecasts for the following three days. The service was specifically designed for local authorities responsible for monitoring bathing water quality in Baltic Sea waters.

Through a web or mobile application interface, users can select specific bathing locations and receive notifications about current and upcoming risk levels. These data support users in planning their daily monitoring activities by helping them focus efforts on areas where higher risk levels are forecasted.

HAB-RISK retrieves phycocyanin concentration data from the Copernicus Marine Service Sentinel-3 water reflectance product, together with additional data sources. The satellite-derived product is then integrated into a drift model using CMEMS Baltic Sea current velocity data.