Quantitative assessment of autonomous boats in harmful algal control: unveiling effectiveness and uncertainty

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) pose serious threats to aquatic environments, ecosystems, and local economies. In response, recent research has explored the deployment of autonomous boats to monitor, measure, and mitigate these blooms. This study presents a novel approach utilizing Watabot-Pro, an autonomous boat specifically designed for the management of HABs. Despite technological advancements in such systems, uncertainties remain regarding their operational efficiency and effectiveness—particularly in comparison to conventional mitigation strategies and under varying environmental conditions and parameter settings. Leveraging remote sensing imagery and algal concentration data provided by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), we develop a computational framework to simulate and assess the potential of autonomous boats in managing HABs. Our simulations model the removal of cyanobacteria (commonly known as blue-green algae) using both traditional and autonomous methods across multiple scenarios informed by real-world environmental variables. This work offers valuable insights for environmental scientists, researchers, and policymakers by introducing emerging technologies for ecological intervention and evaluating their associated uncertainties.