MENU
SECTIONS
OTHER
CLASSIFIEDS
CONTACT US / FAQ
Advertisement
Chris Winslow, interim Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State University Stone Laboratory director, aboard the research vessel, holds up a container that has a live mayfly nymph swimming in it as an indication of the health of Lake Erie. Mr. Winslow said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-tration prediction of only a mild algae bloom in this portion of the lake appears to be right on the money.
2
MORE

Algae forming in Lake Erie despite drought

THE BLADE/TOM HENRY

Algae forming in Lake Erie despite drought

Scientists aim to learn from Great Lakes’ dry summer

GIBRALTAR ISLAND, Ohio — Drought and abnormally dry conditions are keeping western Lake Erie on track for a mild algae season while also giving Great Lakes scientists more insight into the long-term durability of toxic cyanobacteria that can threaten the region’s drinking water.

Experts indicate the situation underscores the strong correlation between agricultural runoff and algal growth, while agreeing there is a lot more to learn about how long algae can survive, even in cold.

Despite recent storms, the latest U.S. Drought Monitor data released Thursday shows Lake Erie’s entire southern shoreline from Michigan to New York in a moderate drought or abnormally dry, a slight improvement from a couple of weeks ago. In western New York, near Buffalo-Niagara Falls, a portion of the Lake Erie shoreline remains in extreme or severe drought.

Advertisement

But algae is forming, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Rick Stumpf, a NOAA oceanographer in Maryland who monitors Lake Erie, has said a key question this summer will be how much forms in such a dry season because of carryover from 2015’s record bloom, which was generated by record rainfall in June and early July of last year.

Scientists believe the most important window of time for runoff is between March 1 and July 31.

Chris Winslow, interim Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State University Stone Laboratory director, told The Blade Friday the NOAA forecasts get better as they’re refined each year, and that this summer’s prediction of a mild bloom appears to be on the mark.

Advertisement

He added it’s too late in the season for last week’s storms to make much of a difference.

About 20 journalists attending an annual, two-day science writers’ workshop at Stone Laboratory saw for themselves how clear much of Lake Erie is this summer.

While aboard a research vessel anchored near Middle Bass Island, the visibility was measured at different locations with a device known as a Secchi disk. Each yielded results far deeper than normal for mid-August since algae began reappearing almost annually since 1995, one exception being the 2012 drought.

But what fascinates scientists isn’t the lack of algae in a drought year, it’s that there’s apparently some forming from cells that still remain from a year ago.

Conventional wisdom used to be those cells died off during the winter. But scientists have said that’s not what happens.

According to NOAA’s latest harmful algal bloom bulletin released on Friday, Lake Erie’s most dominant form of toxic cyanobacteria, microcystis, is forming in far western Lake Erie, with highest concentrations extending from Maumee Bay along the Michigan coast and offshore to West Sister Island.

Using NASA satellite imagery, NOAA officials indicate it “identified patches of scum within Maumee Bay on Thursday.”

Toxin concentrations remain below the recreational threshold outside of Maumee Bay, but boaters are cautioned against making contact with the water inside the bay.

Winds are expected to increase through Sunday, causing mixing Saturday and Sunday, then decreasing on Monday to lead to mild or no mixing, according to NOAA.

Phosphorus is the nutrient most associated with algal growth, but the toxicity is often influenced by how much nitrogen gets into the water, along with light levels and genetics, Mr. Winslow said.

The small blooms that were forming in Maumee Bay were last seen moving toward the Ontario shoreline — but that can change quickly by shifts in wind direction.

Mr. Winslow said the region will always be subject to “the whim of weather.”

“Even when you predict how big a bloom will be, it changes because of the wind,” he said.

Another lesson: Upon closer examination, diffuse microcystis particles can still be found this summer in areas of the lake that seem to be clear.

Inside Stone Lab’s water-quality laboratory on South Bass Island, research assistant Erica Fox held up a glass beaker of a sample drawn from the dock on Thursday. It had scattered bits of microcystis. By giving it a heavy dose of phosphorus, the particles multiplied within 24 hours, she said.

NOAA reported in its release Friday that a persistent cyanobacteria bloom continues in Sandusky Bay.

Sandusky Bay usually is affected by planktothrix, a different HAB but one that produces the same toxin as microcystis, called microcystin — the algal toxin behind the 2014 Toledo water crisis and one on the rise globally over the past 20 years.

“Keep yourself and your pets out of scums,” NOAA said.

Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com, 419-724-6079, or via Twitter @ecowriterohio.

First Published August 20, 2016, 4:00 a.m.

RELATED
SHOW COMMENTS  
Join the Conversation
We value your comments and civil discourse. Click here to review our Commenting Guidelines.
Must Read
Partners
Advertisement
Chris Winslow, interim Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State University Stone Laboratory director, aboard the research vessel, holds up a container that has a live mayfly nymph swimming in it as an indication of the health of Lake Erie. Mr. Winslow said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-tration prediction of only a mild algae bloom in this portion of the lake appears to be right on the money.  (THE BLADE/TOM HENRY)  Buy Image
Erica Fox preps a microcystis sample. Microcystis particles can still be found this summer in clear-looking lake areas.  (THE BLADE/TOM HENRY)  Buy Image
THE BLADE/TOM HENRY
Advertisement
LATEST local
Advertisement
Pittsburgh skyline silhouette
TOP
Email a Story