The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates 40 percent of Lake Okeechobee is now covered in a harmful blue-green algae bloom that multiplied quickly in the past two weeks. Richard Stumpf, a NOAA oceanographer monitoring algae on the lake via satellite, said the lake is experiencing a “major bloom”, that, unfortunately is coinciding with lake discharges.
“Last year there was a large bloom, but they weren’t dropping the water level in the lake at the time and nobody paid any attention,” Stumpf said. “Lake O does get blooms and this is a big one, but it’s all about timing. This year the timing is bad.”
The images below show the growth of the bloom on the lake between June 8 and June 20. Stumpf said the red and orange colors correspond to the highest concentrations of blue-green algae, or cyanobacteria. […]
Full article: NOAA: 40 percent of Lake O covered in harmful algae bloom
More about Florida’s Lake Okeechobee water and algal blooms:
Florida: FWC to suspend aquatic spraying
As bouts with killer algae rose, Florida gutted its water quality monitoring
White House approves huge reservoir for Lake Okeechobee overflow
Environmental activist Erin Brockovich on water releases from Lake Okeechobee
Toxic Lake: The Untold Story of Lake Okeechobee
Warming drives spread of toxic algae in US, researchers say
Gil Smart: What’s behind push for deep injection wells near Lake Okeechobee?
