Because the Baron needs hours on the engine, my husband Ed and I have been up in the sky a lot lately. Sometimes I am with him and sometimes I am not, but through technology we are always connected.
Today I am sharing all aerials Ed took yesterday, 6-17-20, that continue to document a very expansive algae bloom in Lake Okeechobee.
So where exactly is the algae? I can tell you, from the sky, flying over the central and southern part of the lake -at two, to five thousand feet -going two-hundred miles per hours -it sometimes becomes one giant blur of green. Right now, the bloom is visible mostly in the south central (east, west and central) areas of the lake, not in the north.
Seeing the algae depends on lighting and some areas are brighter than others, but when the sun hits the water just right, a sheen is everywhere.
About a mile and a half off Port Mayaca’s S-308 on the east side is the brightest and weirdest of all often displaying geometric formations due to boat traffic through the channel.
The ACOE has been flowing C-44 into the lake at S-308 but this certainly is not the cause of all the algae. Ed and I have years of documentation. The lake is eutrophic. Winds also affect the collection and formation of the algae. For a deeper dive into this you can visit my brother Todd Thurlow’s website EyeOnLakeO.
Here are all photos 6-17-20 with some comment clues and GPS. I have made one comment and then all photos that follow are the same location just a different angle. Use the GPS too. Question? Just ask!
~Eye in the Sky
MOVIE SOUTHEASTERN LAKEO, 6-17-20
Jacqui, the navigation screen next to the picture is VERY helpful to understand where the cyanobacteria actually is located. BTW, is the proper term for Lake O. “eutrophic” or “hypereutrophic”? Asking for a friend…
Hi. I have never heard the term hypereutropic but that doesn’t mean it is not the right one! I will ask and read.
I’ve heard numerous people state (including an idiotic congressman from Stuart) that the east coast problems belong to the operations of lake o. Will you please set the record straight for once? Not only do we see the effects on the east and west (where I am) from nutrients and massive flows from our basins, we dump this back into the lake and somehow this is ok? Your 58k of sewage will likely be sent my way since baldy don’t want no pee in his pool (y’all’s pee I may add). Please set the record straight and correct the double talk and slight of hand… or else your no better than the others
Thank you for your comment.