SCCOOS harmful algal bloom monitoring

During my undergraduate, I managed the Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo CA chapter of the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS), where I tracked and monitored harmful algal blooms from Cal Poly's Center for Coatal Marine Science pier facility under the supervision of my undergraduate advisor Dr. Mark Moline. SCCOOS is one of eleven regions that contributes to the national U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). The regional observing systems work to collect, integrate, and deliver coastal and ocean observations in order to improve safety, enhance the economy, and protect the environment. The principal goal of SCCOOS is to provide observations and products to a diverse stakeholder community of managers and planners, operational decision makers, scientists, and the general public. While running the project for over a year I developed a well rounded knowledge of algal ecology and identification, gained experience with various plankton and water sampling techniques, and ran quantitative and qualitative analysis using microscopy for algal identification.