This summer, AOOS deployed its three Imaging FlowCytobots (IFCBs) across Alaska. IFCBs are automated microscopes that collect water samples and produce real-time images of individual phytoplankton. These images can be used to detect potentially harmful species, including Alexandrium, Pseudo-nitzschia, and Dinophysis.
AOOS’ Thomas Farrugia has been deploying IFCBs on vessels of opportunity since 2024 to detect harmful algal blooms (HABs) as early as possible. When an IFCB detects signs of a HAB, he sends an advisory to nearby communities, researchers, and agencies, alerting them to a potential toxic event that could affect humans and wildlife. In both 2024 and 2025, AOOS IFCBs detected blooms of Alexandrium that were followed by unusual mortality events involving fish, birds, and marine mammals in the Pribilof Islands.
Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB) deployed on the Tiglax in 2026. Photo by Thomas Farrugia.
Between May and September 2026, AOOS conducted six IFCB deployments, each with an associated dashboard where the vessel track and plankton images can be viewed:
- R/V Sally Ride during the Spring Northern Gulf of Alaska LTER cruise (May 1-20)
- Stationary on the dock of the Kasitsna Bay Lab (May 28-July 7)
- F/V Northwest Explorer during the NOAA Bering Sea Bottom Trawl Survey (May 31-Aug. 14)
- R/V Woldstad during the Norton Sound hydrographic survey (June 17-Aug. 28)
- R/V Sikuliaq across multiple cruises (Aug. 21-ongoing)
- R/V Tiglax during the Fall Northern Gulf of Alaska LTER cruise (Sept. 14-22)
Across these six deployments, the IFCBs collected a total of 12,091 samples, representing millions of images of planktonic particles.
While R/V Sikuliaq was transiting from Seattle to Nome and crossing the southeastern Bering Sea, its IFCB detected an Alexandrium bloom that peaked at approximately 10,000 cells per liter on Aug. 28. The bloom was located about 70 nautical miles east of the Pribilof Islands, in the same general area as blooms detected in 2024 and 2025. AOOS issued an advisory to nearby communities, but, so far, no reports of unusual animal mortalities have been received.
Dashboard showing the Alexandrium bloom on R/V Sikuliaq on August 28, 2026.
In addition to detecting harmful algal blooms in near real time, IFCB data are archived for use in other research projects. These data can help characterize phytoplankton communities across Alaska throughout the summer. Data can be visualized and accessed through the AOOS portal and through dashboards developed by collaborators at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
To learn more about IFCBs, visit the Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network’s IFCB info page. Researchers interested in accessing the data or exploring the possibility of deploying an IFCB on a future cruise can contact Thomas Farrugia at farrugia@aoos.org.