Harmful Algal Bloom Monitoring with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles: Tools, Challenges, and Public Health Implications

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are an escalating global concern due to their increasing frequency, duration, intensity, and geographic spread. These events threaten public health by contaminating drinking water sources, recreational areas, and food production systems with cyanotoxins. Effective monitoring is critical but remains limited by the spatial and temporal variability of blooms. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have recently emerged as a flexible, high-resolution tool for HAB monitoring that can complement satellite and in situ methods. This review synthesizes recent applications of UAVs in HAB detection, mapping, and sampling, with a focus on how these approaches can support public health interventions. Key UAV platforms, sensor types, and data processing workflows are summarized, along with considerations related to flight regulations. Studies linking UAV data to indicators like chlorophyll-a and phycocyanin are discussed, highlighting their relevance for early warning systems and water treatment responses. Finally, the review identifies persistent challenges—including validation, regulatory gaps, and integration with health risk frameworks—and provides recommendations to advance UAV-based monitoring. These insights support the continued development of UAV systems as part of comprehensive strategies to mitigate HAB-related health risks.