Federal funding was recently provided to the University of Michigan in an effort to understand and prevent the occurrence of harmful algal blooms that fatefully impact freshwater globally. The $5.2 million federal grant supporting this algal bloom research project is part of the $1.5 billion in total annual research and development funding received by the university.
While the major effects of these destructive algal blooms are not well understood they came under greater investigation when in 2014, the town of Toldeo, Michigan’s local water supply was contaminated as a result of an algal bloom in Lake Erie. The intention of project researchers is to increase and expand understanding of the toxins and chemical compounds associated with algal blooms and how they effect public health.
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