NOAA: 40% of Lake Okeechobee covered in harmful algae

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

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