Cyanobacteria bloom hazard function and preliminary application in lake taihu, China

Abstract

In recent years, due to the intensification of human activities, water ecological problems are gradually increasing. As the third largest freshwater lake in China, Lake Taihu is an important drinking water source for several densely populated cities in China. The prominent water ecological problem in this area is mainly Cyanobacteria Bloom. Cyanobacterial blooms have been erupting which have affected local residents' drinking water and caused losses to the national economy. Based on the interpretation results of MODIS data in the Lake Taihu region from 2004 to 2014, this paper analyzes the main driving factors of cyanobacterial bloom are phosphorus and potassium through the correlation analysis of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and cyanobacteria area, normalizes nutrient, and identifies that the water level of Lake Taihu is the influencing factor of cyanobacterial bloom. A Lake Taihu cyanobacteria bloom hazard function is constructed to quantitatively assess the losses (economic losses) caused by cyanobacterial blooms from 2001 to 2012, supporting for cyanobacteria control management in Lake Taihu.

Keywords: Cyanobacteria bloom; Lake taihu; Loss assessment; MODIS; S-shaped curve.