Teachers

Active Inquiry Questions

Key Concept 
Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) are a problem throughout the world, but they present unique problems in the Gulf of Mexico and along the Atlantic coast. Monitoring and predicting the occurrence of HABs through satellite imagery and remote sensing techniques may provide vital information to alleviate the impact of economic disaster and potential life-threatening events to both humans and other marine organisms. However, methods employed to detect these species are currently under development.

Background Scenario
"Harmful Algal Blooms" (HABs) is a term used to describe a proliferation, or "bloom," of single-celled marine algae called phytoplankton. More commonly known as "red tides," these blooms occur when the algae photosynthesize and multiply. While there are thousands of algae species in existence, only a few dozen are known to be toxic. Phytoplankton serve as the base of the marine food web, and consequently their impact can be devastating for humans and for marine flora or fauna in the affected ecosystem. Manatees are one marine animal that have been significantly affected by the presence of HABs. Where do these toxins typically occur? How can we track the presence of these harmful toxins to prevent health, economic, and marine resource losses?

Go to the Background Scenario for a more in-depth discussion.

Goals
Students will understand the potential value in using satellite data to detect and monitor the presence of HABs.

In this lesson, the students will:

  • Learn how to read color satellite images
  • Interpret satellite images to better understand HAB events
  • Use satellite and GIS maps to analyze the relationship of manatee deaths to HABs

Science Process Skills
Observing, predicting, interpreting, manipulating, graphing, communicating

Vocabulary
HAB, phytoplankton algae, Red Tide, neurotoxins, zooplankton, Ciguatera, Pfiesteria, Karenia brevis, Gymnodinium breve, domoic acid, dormant cysts, Alexandrium tamarense, ballast, aquaculture, dinoflagellates, El Niño, La Niña, brevetoxins, and more….

Materials
Computer, Internet Access, pen or pencil

Grade Level: grades 9-12

Key Question
How do we detect and track the presence of HABs in an effort to reduce serious health effects on humans, marine organisms, and regional economies?

Teacher Preparation
Begin the lesson by asking the Key Question. The students’ answers will help you become familiar with their knowledge of HABs. The PowerPoint presentation is provided to give the students the necessary background information to complete this lesson.

Begin the inquiry by generating student questions relating to HABs provided in the PowerPoint presentation, "Discovering Harmful Algal Blooms".  As the students generate questions, record those questions on the board.

Once the students have all the necessary background information, you may begin asking them the "Active Inquiry Questions". Guide the students with this series of questions, provided on the student page, to get them started on the inquiry part of the lesson. These questions are designed to guide your students through their study of HAB data. Their inquiries and subsequent findings will lead them to more complex questions that they can record for further investigation. Your goal is to help the students generate questions that can later be used in a hypothesis for research. Also available is a Guidelines for a Good Research Question link. This link will help students become familiar with the process of creating a good scientific question that can be answered using the data provided by the NOAA/NESDIS website.

Once the students have generated enough questions, split them up into groups of three or four. Each group is assigned a different question to investigate. Lead each group through the Researching a Hypothesis link to help guide them in researching a hypothesis. It should take a 90-minute class period to provide background, generate questions, look at data, assign groups, and go over methodology. The following day, the students can use the class time to investigate their hypotheses and present their results. It is important that you not feel like you have to have all the answers. Remember this is inquiry – let the students teach you!

Activity Inquiry Questions
Here are a few examples the teacher can give the students to get them started. Following each question is a link to data that will help answer the question. All external links open in a new window. The maps below show experimental NOAA/NESDIS data and should be interpreted with caution.

  1. Look at the two images found on the following site:

    2. http://cics.umd.edu/~chrisb/gbreve.html

    The first image is a coastal-zone, scanner image of ocean color off the west coast of Florida. The second image is a composite showing red regions where algal blooms (k. brevis) are present. Do you notice any interesting coastal characteristics that may be associated with the presence of k. brevis in the area?

  2. Read the information about the experimental imagery products that NOAA/NESDIS is currently working on to detect HABs:

    3. http://cics.umd.edu/~chrisb/gbrv_www.html

    The two images shown on this web page show images from the winter and summer. The red shows evidence of k. brevis. Are there any correlations between the location of k. brevis in the Florida gulf coast in the winter versus the summer?

  3. Now let us examine an entire year of images. First examine the 2002 images of locations of k. brevis in the Gulf of Mexico:

    4. http://cics.umd.edu/~chrisb/gbrv_www_2002.html

    Where does the concentration of k. brevis appear to be located through the most recent months? Does the location of the k. brevis bloom appear to shift at all? Can you hypothesize why a shift may or may not occur?

  4. Now let’s examine other archived years of images. Click on the following website and scroll to the bottom of the page. You will see archived years ranging from 1997 to 2001.

    5. http://cics.umd.edu/~chrisb/gbrv_www_2002.html

    Examine the images from each year and note the season and location of k. brevis. Which year appears to have an unusually low presence of HABs? In what three locations do you consistently find the presence of HABs? Look at a world atlas or state map of the United States. Are there any geographic features that these three locations have in common that might warrant the presence of HABs?

  5. Go to the following website: http://www.csc.noaa.gov/crs/habf/index.html. After reading about the NOAA Harmful Algal Bloom Project, visit the HAB Observing System (HABSOS). Look at the current red tide conditions and note their locations. Now click on Harmful Algal Blooms Observing System - Near Real Time Map Viewer and explore the HAB interactive map.

    6. Where are HABs currently present? Turn on and off the various SST images. Is there any correlation between SST and the presence of HABs?

  6. Go to the following website and scroll down to see the archived data of SST maps. http://imars.usf.edu/cgi-bin/db?site=gulf&index=1&type=st&mode=daily. Pick a month or a year of SST maps found on this site and compare these to the presence of HABs found at this site: http://orbitnet.nesdis.noaa.gov/orad2/doc/gbrv_www_2002.html

  7. Explore the information from the following site: http://www.whoi.edu/redtide/.

    What are some of the harmful affects of HABs on humans and other marine organisms?

  8. Look at the expansion of HABs pre- and post-1972:

    http://www.whoi.edu/redtide/page.do?pid=18116

    What coastal regions appear to have a dramatic increase of HAB outbreaks post-1972?
    What do you think causes this increase?
    What HAB outbreak is most common along the coasts?

Additional Questions to think about1. Are there significant links between land-based activities and HABs?2. Are there strategies to control, mitigate, and ultimately eliminate the outbreaks and health impacts of harmful algal blooms?3. What effects do HABs have on higher trophic levels?4. Should we be concerned about what types of seafood we eat and where they come from?Continue to the HAB Investigation