Innovative instrumentation is available for developing new age methods of monitoring for algae. Advancements in optics and electronics allow us to build specialized fluorometers that target specific marker pigments in an effort to more accurately quantify various algal groups or estimate pigment concentrations in real-time, in the field. The traditional methods of collecting grab samples from the field for processing can now take a back seat to the better resolved data sets we can compile from these new age tools.
