The harmful algae bloom in Lake Erie has largely sputtered out after exceeding early summer projections on its severity.
On a severity index of 10, this year’s “moderately severe” bloom hit a 6, according to forecasters with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), who had predicted in June that it would likely range between a 2 and a 4.5.
The bloom was slow to develop, starting in late July. It peaked between late August and early September before weakening amid several days of strong winds.
It re-intensified along the Michigan coast in late September and lasted through the end of October — longer than in recent years, thanks to persistently warm water temperatures.
At its peak, the bloom covered 530 square miles. Despite its large geographic size, the toxicity concentrations were lower and scums were less intense than some recent years.
Last year’s bloom was mild; a 3 on the severity index. Severe years include 2011, when algae reached Cleveland; 2015, when it reached across the lake to Ontario; and 2017, when green scums formed on the Maumee River in Toledo.
The annual severity index is calculated by measuring the amount of bloom biomass using satellite imagery over the peak 30-days of the bloom.
NOAA forecasters suggested the larger area this year may be due to heavy rainfall in July, which allowed heavier river discharges to disperse algae-feeding phosphorus and other nutrients further into the lake’s shallow western basin.
The annual Lake Erie blooms consist of microcystis cyanobacteria, (blue-green algae), which can produce toxins that foul coastlines and can make humans and animals sick.
Bloom size and spread is driven primarily by the amount of “bioavailable” phosphorus that’s entering the lake through the Maumee River and its tributaries in Michigan and Ohio. The river’s nutrient load is primarily fed by runoff in the watershed from pelletized fertilizer and liquid manure generated by livestock feeding operations known as CAFOs.
In 2015, Michigan, Ohio and Ontario agreed to reduce phosphorus entering western Lake Erie by 40 percent by 2025 — with 20 percent by 2020 as an interim goal that wasn’t met.
Michigan and Ohio have largely relied on voluntary programs rather than mandates to incentivize agricultural businesses to reduce nutrient loss from fields and
Environmental groups across the region say that approach is not working.
Global climate change is also believed to be magnifying the annual blooms by warming lake temperatures and increasing nutrient runoff through intensifying storms.
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Lake Erie algae bloom was “moderately severe,” says NOAA - MLive.com
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