US: The United States’ National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is offering US$30,000 in cash prizes to spot harmful algal blooms in photographs taken from space. Titled ‘Tick Tick Bloom’, participants have to study satellite images of inland water bodies to identify and segregate algal blooms by severity.
The winner will receive US$12,000. Second and third prizes are worth US$9,000 and US$6,000. The top five must submit an article on methodology used and bonus prizes - US$2,000 and US$1,000 - will be awarded to the two best write-ups, NASA said. The contest will be open till February 17.
According to environment advocacy group Natural Resources Defense Council, Algae depends on the sun for growth. An overgrowth of algae in water bodies leads to an algal bloom.
A harmful algal bloom (HAB) produces dangerous toxins that can affect humans, and other organisms, and threaten marine ecosystems by blocking sunlight and oxygen.
NASA added that this will result in better accuracy and timeliness for water quality managers to carry out their work on a large scale.
- THE HINDUSTAN TIMES
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