This image taken by NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite June 9 shows color changes from sediments stirred up by the the previous day’s heavy winds. Image: NASA Earth Observatory
By Josh Bender
Wind, temperature changes and algal blooms recently painted Lake Erie with swirls of blue and green, according to NASA satellite photographs.
On June 8, persistent 20 to 25 mph winds whipped up sediments within the lakebed, leaving them suspended in the north and east ends of the lake between Pennsylvania, New York and Ontario, as seen in the June 9 photo. This type of wind event, called a seiche, piles up water on one side of the lake, according to the NASA’s Earth Observatory.
The summer warmth that begins penetrating the lake in June and July prompts the growth of algae, according to the Earth Observatory. It results in green tinges like those apparent in the June 12 photo.
Algae tinges Lake Erie green in an image taken June 12 by NASA’s Landsat 8 satellite. Image: NASA Earth Observatory
Shifts in temperature can change Lake Erie’s chemistry, in turn spurring the rate of photosynthesis among microscopic organisms. That results in a sudden release of calcium carbonate in an event called whiting, giving water a milky white appearance.