Abstract
Recent research has focused on the interactions of cHABs, specifically of the genus Microcystis, and hydrogen peroxide due to potential implementations as a water resource management tool that can effectively forecast and treat blooms. Monitoring studies indicate environmental hydrogen peroxide concentrations increase 1 or 2 weeks prior to a bloom. Although the mechanism explaining the correlation of cHABs, and hydrogen peroxide is still unclear, recent research suggests it may be derived from autotrophic growth and stress of cyanobacteria. Regardless of the mechanism, this phenomenon may be useful to forecast cHAB events, detecting blooms still in the formation stage when treatment is most effective. Hydrogen peroxide added to the environment as a cyanobacterial control offers advantages in selectivity and the environmentally friendly nature of this compound compared to other treatment technologies. However, the current literature presents a variety of methodologies and hypotheses of mechanistic explanations for each use case. In some studies, the findings are contradictory. The current knowledge of cyanobacterial blooms and dynamics of both environmental and added hydrogen peroxide is summarized in this chapter with a focus on why such differences occur and how they may be addressed or overcome in water quality management applications. Our review concludes that a weekly hydrogen peroxide monitoring protocol combined with supplemental water physico-chemistry and algal colony count data collection can determine cHAB formation, prompting rapid response to hydrogen peroxide treatment. This susceptibility of the bloom formation stage may have the potential for a standardized treatment concentration optimization for a wide range of aquatic systems.
