--- title: See Satellite Imagery of Algal Blooms in the Great Lakes description: NASA released Landsat 8 satellite images of burgeoning algal blooms in Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie canonical: https://time.com/3985406/great-lakes-toxic-algal-blooms/ author: Mia Tramz article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-06T00:55:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:02:10.044Z article:section: Science og:title: See Striking New Imagery of Algal Blooms in the Great Lakes og:description: NASA released Landsat 8 satellite images of burgeoning algal blooms in Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie og:url: https://time.com/3985406/great-lakes-toxic-algal-blooms/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdef94fc22c293716/69885df42dce0173199e4ec9/great-lakes-algae-blooms.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Algae Bloom in Lake St. Clair og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: See Striking New Imagery of Algal Blooms in the Great Lakes twitter:description: NASA released Landsat 8 satellite images of burgeoning algal blooms in Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdef94fc22c293716/69885df42dce0173199e4ec9/great-lakes-algae-blooms.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # See Striking New Images of Algae Blooms in the Great Lakes  by [Mia Tramz](https://time.com/author/mia-tramz/)  ## Mia Tramz Aug 6, 2015 12:55 AM UTC  A satellite image of algal blooms around the Great Lakes, visible as swirls of green in this image of Lake St. Clair and in western Lake Erie, taken on July 28, 2015 and released on Aug. 4, 2015. A satellite image of algal blooms around the Great Lakes, visible as swirls of green in this image of Lake St. Clair and in western Lake Erie, taken on July 28, 2015 and released on Aug. 4, 2015.NASA/Goddard's MODIS Rapid Res/EPA  by [Mia Tramz](https://time.com/author/mia-tramz/)  ## Mia Tramz Aug 6, 2015 12:55 AM UTC NASA released[ these images](http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=86327) on Tuesday showing algal blooms in Lake St. Clair (above) and Lake Erie (below). The image was taken by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on the Landsat 8 satellite on July 28, 2015 as part of [a larger effort](http://www.nasa.gov/press/2015/april/nasa-joins-forces-to-put-satellite-eyes-on-threat-to-us-freshwater) between NASA, NOAA, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to protect the public from toxic algal blooms in freshwater.  Algal blooms on Lake Erie, captured on July 28, 2015. NASA/NOAA “There’s very little data on the severity of the blooms in Lake St. Clair from a monitoring perspective,” Dr. Richard Stumpf, an oceanographer at NOAA, told TIME. “That particular bloom, while it could be cyanobacteria, we don’t have confirmation.” The bloom in Lake Erie, which NOAA forecasted in July may rival the algal bloom of 2011, has been confirmed to be toxic cyanobacteria. Western Lake Erie had one of the wettest Junes on record, producing one of the highest measured concentrations of phosphorous, the nutrient that feeds these blooms. “If you go swimming in it, at the minimum your intestines will be in distress,” Dr. Stumpf told TIME. “If there’s a lot, there’s a risk of liver damage. Some people can get dermatitis from skin exposure to high concentrations of the toxin. It is deadly to dogs. Water dogs should not go into where there’s scum or very obvious discoloration.” “The other aspect is that while water treatment is very effective, \[algal blooms\] increase the cost. There’s a lot more that has to be done to the water when you have these blooms. There’s considerable effort and expense going into treating the water.” NOAA will continue to monitor the two lakes, using a combination of data derived from weekly water samples, continual sensors that detect pigment these algae produce, and imagery from Landsat 8 and other lower resolution satellites. The addition of NASA’s ocean color processing to the Landsat 8 imagery will improve NOAA’s ability to analyze and forecast algal blooms.  A satellite timelapse view of the algal blooms in Lake Erie and Lake Sinclair on July 20, 23, and 28, 2015. NOAA, with data from NASA Aqua and Terra satellites “In Lake St. Clair we need a confirmation of what we’re dealing with so we can confirm whether it is cyanobacteria and whether it is toxic,” said Stumpf. “Then from our side we monitor for the bloom, get the distribution, the concentration, and then we forecast where it’s going. We try to provide enough information to advise the water suppliers, the state agencies, the parks of when they’re at risk of the blooms showing up at their doorstep.” “A bloom like this will likely be around well into September. When it’s this big it tends to last. 2011 went to the beginning of October – I hope this does not last that long. Unfortunately that’s not unusual to have something that’s strikingly beautiful and terrible at the same time.” ### PHOTOS: 20 Breathtaking Images of Earth From Space  Aleppo, Syria, May 26, 2013 – The Citadel of Aleppo – medieval fortified palace DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Belfast, Northern Ireland, Nov. 3, 2013 – “Wish,” a large-scale art work DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Utah, USA, April 22, 2013 – Colorado River DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Cuanza River, Angola, April 28, 2013 – Cambambe Dam DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Doha, Qatar, March 4, 2013 – Artificial island spanning nearly four million sq meters. DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Dunalley, Australia, Jan. 6, 2013 – fires, false color image (red = healthy vegetation) DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Australia, April 22, 2013 – Great Barrier Reef DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Gwadar coast, Pakistan Sept. 29, 2013 – new island created by earthquake in Pakistan DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Croatia, Feb. 16, 2013 – Galešnjak (Island of Love) DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Hong Kong, China May 9, 2013 – giant rubber duck DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, March 22, 2013 – Manam Volcano DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Namib Desert, Namibia, May 13, 2013 – Sossusvlie area DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Naples, Italy, Feb. 19 2013 – Mount Vesuvius DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Niger, Feb. 13, 2013 – Arlit Uranium Mine DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Schooner Cays, Bahamas, May 26, 2013 DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Sochi, Russia, March 17, 2013 – Site of 2014 winter Olympics DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Near the city of Sur, Oman, Feb. 13, 2013 – massive “green tide” DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Valencia, Spain, July 19, 2013 – Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia and Gulliver Park with an enormous fiberglass model of Lemuel Gulliver trapped DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Versailles, France, Aug. 20, 2013 – Palace of Versailles DigitalGlobe—Getty Images  Xi'an, China, Sept. 24, 2013 – Shiyuan Park DigitalGlobe—Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3985406/great-lakes-toxic-algal-blooms/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3985406/great-lakes-toxic-algal-blooms/"},"headline":"See Striking New Images of Algae Blooms in the Great Lakes","datePublished":"2015-08-06T00:55:36.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:02:10.044Z","description":"NASA released Landsat 8 satellite images of burgeoning algal blooms in Lake St. Clair and Lake Erie","url":"https://time.com/3985406/great-lakes-toxic-algal-blooms/","keywords":["Environment","NASA","Biology","earth"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdef94fc22c293716/69885df42dce0173199e4ec9/great-lakes-algae-blooms.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mia Tramz","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mia-tramz/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltdef94fc22c293716/69885df42dce0173199e4ec9/great-lakes-algae-blooms.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Algae Bloom in Lake St. Clair","caption":"Algae Bloom in Lake St. Clair","creditText":"NASA/Goddard's MODIS Rapid Res/EPA","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3985406/great-lakes-toxic-algal-blooms/","name":"See Striking New Images of Algae Blooms in the Great Lakes"}}]}] ```