Satellite imagery may not mean what you think it means
- Katrina Elsken Lake Okeechobee News
- Jun 26
- 2 min read
Anglers who frequently fish Lake Okeechobee are often puzzled by media allegations the lake is “covered” in algae, or that algal blooms cover hundreds of square miles of the lake.
The confusion often comes from a misunderstanding of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) color-coded satellite imagery. The imagery shows areas in black as no detectable algae potential, in blue as low potential, in green as moderate potential and in red or orange as high potential.
The key word here: POTENTIAL. Anglers visit an area shown in red as “high potential” often don’t see any visible algae.
The June 21 NOAA satellite imagery of Lake O showed some areas in blue and green, covering an estimated 160 square miles of the lake’s 730-square mile area. Yet visitors to the lake that same day in the area with the highest probability for algae didn’t see any visible algae.
NOAA satellite images of Lake Okeechobee only tell part of the story.
Algae and cyanobacteria (commonly called “blue green algae” but not true algae) are part of the lake’s natural ecosystem, just as they are part of every freshwater and marine ecosystem. They are the base of the food chain.
They are always present in the water, but most of the time they are not visible to the human eye. Under certain circumstances – hot weather, little water movement and plentiful supply of phosphorus and nitrogen for fuel – these microscopic organisms can reproduce rapidly into a visible “bloom.”
Not all algae produces toxins. Also, even algae capable of producing toxins may not do so.
The dominant species of algae in Lake O in recent years is Microcystis aeruginosa, which can produce the toxin, microcystin. Can – but doesn’t always do so.
