MSGID: 1:317/3 63655341   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   November 4, 2022 - Lake Michigan in Bloom   
      
      Lake Michigan   
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      Milky turquoise swirls tinted the southern tip of Lake Michigan on   
      November 1, 2022, when the Moderate Resolution Imaging   
      Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a   
      true-color image of the third-largest Great Lake. The bright colors   
      extend near the coastline from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in the west to   
      Benton Harbor, Michigan in the east. In addition, a cloud of   
      lighter-toned hues color deeper water in the southeastern section of   
      the lake, roughly from Muskegon, Michigan to La Porte, Indiana.   
      
      The color most likely comes from a combination of sediment and   
      phytoplankton. At the start of October, the waters of southern Lake   
      Michigan appeared dark blue and were nearly free of jewel-toned stains.   
      A series of cloudy days with gusty wind kicked up sediment near the   
      southern shores, especially from October 16-18, leaving the southern   
      coastal waters tinted muddy brown on October 19. Over the next few   
      days, the sediment was carried eastward and into deeper waters. The   
      color of sediment changes from tan to greenish or blue-green as it   
      sinks below the surface.   
      
      Now, almost two weeks after the cold and gusty front moved over the   
      lake, the color along the shoreline has thinned while the color in the   
      deeper water has expanded. This strongly suggests that phytoplankton,   
      which live in the lake year-round, have taken advantage of the extra   
      nutrients provided by the stirred-up sediment and have begun to   
      reproduce explosively to create a large bloom.   
      
      Phytoplankton are microscopic algae which contain the pigment   
      chlorophyll and float freely in the sunlit upper layers of marine   
      environments, including the Great Lakes. Blooms are most common in the   
      spring and summer in the Great Lakes, when water is warm and daylight   
      is long. However, late-season blooms can occur, especially when   
      nutrients become plentiful.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Terra   
      Date Acquired: 11/2/2022   
      Resolutions:  1km (218.6 KB),  500m (610.5 KB),  250m (1.3 MB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-11-04   
       
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