This dataset shows the concentration of cyanobacteria cells/ml in fresh water bodies and estuaries of the Ohio and Florida derived from 300x300 meter MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) satellite imagery. This dataset was produced through partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). This cyanobacteria dataset was derived using the European Space Agency (ESA) Envisat satellite and MERIS instrument. MERIS is a 68.5 degree field-of-view nadir-pointing imaging spectrometer which measures the solar radiation reflected by the Earth in 15 spectral bands (visible and near-infrared). MERIS imagery was used to identify long-wavelength spectral bands (from red through near-infrared portion of the spectrum) to locate algal blooms within freshwaters and estuaries of the continental United States.

This dataset is associated with the following publication: Urquhart, E., B. Schaeffer, R. Stumpf, K. Loftin, and J. Wedell. .A method for examining temporal changes in cyanobacterial harmful algal bloom spatial extent using satellite remote sensing. Harmful Algae. Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam, NETHERLANDS, 67: 144-152, (2017).