Article
Valuing Satelite Data for Harmful Algal Bloom Warning Systems
Resources for the Future Working Paper
(2022)
Abstract
In this study we develop an information valuation framework for harmful algal blooms (HABs), and
we apply the framework to a case study of outdoor recreation in California. We obtained estimates
of the concentration of cyanobacteria from remote sensing satellite data at 100 lakes in California
in 2019 from the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI). We developed a new approach to estimate
a recreation demand site-choice model that includes a full set of fixed e↵ects for both destinations
and origins. We examined the statistical performance of the estimator using simulated data in a
Monte Carlo analysis, and we applied the approach using cell phone mobility data, which indicate
the total number of visitors from around 1400 ZIP codes to the study lakes. We estimated the
value of a perfect early warning system by comparing the total willingness-to-pay for access to the
lakes under a counterfactual scenario wherein the presence or absence of HABs at all lakes could
be known with certainty before recreators select which site to visit to the value of access under the
status quo scenario assuming recreators form expectations about HAB occurrences based on the
historic frequencies of HABs at each site. Our benchmark results suggest that the total value of
the complete mitigation of HABs at the 100 California lakes selected for our study between April
and September 2019 would have been $7.41 million, and the total value of a perfect early warning
system would have been $2.46 million.
Keywords
- Harmful Algal Blooms,
- Economics,
- Value,
- Satellite Data,
- RUM Model,
- Recreation
Disciplines
Publication Date
Fall October, 2022
Citation Information
Stephen Newbold, Sarah Lindley, Shannon E. Albeke, Joshua Viers, et al.. "Valuing Satelite Data for Harmful Algal Bloom Warning Systems" Resources for the Future Working Paper (2022) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/george_parsons/71/