The overarching goal of this project is to enable robust real-time monitoring of harmful algal blooms via satellite-based telemetry

This Cooperative Agreement award, totaling $2,395,822, was granted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Federal Grant Program (CFDA 11.012). The overarching goal of the project is to enable robust real-time monitoring of harmful algal blooms (HABs) via satellite-based telemetry. The award supports the extension of the Phyto-ARM open-source platform, which integrates diverse sensors, movement devices, and edge AI capabilities, to an autonomous surface vessel (ASV) platform. This will expand the reach of the National HAB Observing Network (NHABON) by enabling continuous offshore monitoring of phytoplankton communities, a critical unmet need. Key components include the Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB) phytoplankton sensor, which can capture and classify over 1 million plankton images per day, and the SP-48 solar-powered ASV platform. The project also enhances the data management system to support Iridium Certus-based data transfers. This award, running from June 2024 to May 2027, will advance NOAA's efforts to improve marine observation capabilities and support coastal community resilience through innovative ocean monitoring technologies.

The project advances phyto-arm, an open-source collection of robot operating system (ROS) resources for directing HAB sensing at strategic locations through integration of diverse sensors, movement devices, and network edge artificial intelligence (edge AI). The core component of the system is the imaging flowcybotot (IFCB) phytoplankton sensor, an imaging-in-flow cytometer that can record >106 images of individual nano- and microplankton cells per day. This sensors ability to detect a wide range of HAB species, continuously and for several months without maintenance, has led to its wide use within nhabon (the national HAB observing network). A major unmet need within nhabon is monitoring of phytoplankton communities offshore where the largest and most impactful habs develop. A longstanding obstacle to IFCB deployment in these areas has been the sensors power and data connectivity requirements. Recent work by the project team has addressed these challenges in two ways. First, they have updated IFCB so that IT can simultaneously capture and classify phytoplankton images using robust, convolutional neural network (CNN)- based models. Second, they have configured and tested an autonomous surface vessel (ASV) platform for providing on-water power and internet connectivity. This project builds upon these advances through extension of phyto-arm to an ASV platform, the SP-48 solar boat made by seatrac systems, INC., that has been acquired for deployment in habon-NE, the nhabon node that serves the northeast U.S. The project also expands the capabilities of an existing data management system for data transfers through iridium certus services (