Chapter 17 - Living with Harmful Algal Blooms in a Changing World: Strategies for Modeling and Mitigating Their Effects in Coastal Marine Ecosystems

Abstract

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are extreme biological events with the potential for extensive negative impacts to fisheries, coastal ecosystems, public health, and coastal economies. In this chapter, we link issues concerning the key drivers of HABs with the various approaches for minimizing their negative impacts, emphasizing the use of numerical modeling techniques to bridge the gap between observations and predictive understanding. We review (1) recent studies on the environmental pressures that promote HABs; (2) prominent strategies for preventing or controlling blooms; (3) modeling methods, specifically addressing harmful algal species dynamics, and their use as a predictive tool to facilitate mitigation; and then (4) highlight several coastal regions where the mitigation of HABs is generally approached from a regional Earth system and observation framework. Lastly, we summarize future directions for “living with” HABs in an era of limited financial resources for ocean observing.