AlgaeCulture
The Problem
Problem - fertilizer runoff causes an influx of nutrients, namely nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium, to be carried into large bodies of water such as the gulf of mexico, where they contribute to algal blooms and thus oceanic eutrophication ("dead zones"). currently, there is no way to: --Understand the role of precision agriculture in algal blooms --Monitor the quantity and composition ("quality") of fertilizer runoff in real time --Create baseline runoff values and forecast algal blooms spatial variance or severity All in one place.
Our Proposal
Our App, Algaeculture! Algaeculture harnesses existing datasets and emerging soil sensors being used at Universities and commerically (Terlytic) sensor outputs to create a real time map of fertilizer runoff to predict where and when algal blooms will occur. By tracking the exact outputs of fertilizer runoff and comparing them to farms using precision agriculture, we can quantify the role of precision agriculture in preventing algal blooms and create best practices.
We Assume that...
Constraints to Overcome
Access to real time monitoring and consilidated data on the role of precision agriculture in preventing algal blooms and oceanic dead zones.