Anybody know....

[Jeanzb1]

.....what this brown pollen-like sediment is that is on top of the water and just below the surface? It's somewhat similar to the yellow pine pollen in June, but the "grains" are larger. We're located in a cove but also saw it out toward Rattlesnake Island this evening. Haven't noticed it before today.
Just curious.

[Fish]

We saw exactly what you are talking about last
Sunday as well, thought it might have been sometime from the heavy rains of Saturday. We were in brickyard cove.

[Jeanzb1]

Are they some kind of spores, do you think? They look like little brown/greenish poppy seeds and/or bubbles. Can't believe no one seems to know anything about them!

[Jeanzb1]

Here's the answer to my own question! I've called the state and talked to an expert on cyanobacteria. What is present in our cove and actually throughout the lake is GLOEOTRICHIA. He said there is not as much known about it as other cyanobacterias, but it is thought to have a "little" toxicity to it. He said it should be gone by the end of the month and that he would avoid swimming if it appears in great mass. Mystery solved!

[Onshore]

Hi All:
The greenish-brownish balls that are floating around Winnipesaukee is a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterium. The cyanobacterium, Gloeotrichia echinulata is the organism you are looking at in Winnipesaukee. We can also find Gloeo in Lake Opechee, Lake Winnisquam and Lake Sunapee. The bloom has occured annually in each of those lakes. The cells begin in late July and typically reach a maximum by the last week in August and finally diassapear by the end of September.
Unfortunately, preliminary testing has revealed that the cell contain toxins. If you observe a high concentration around your area, please avoid swimming and don't let pets drink water with high cell concentration.
The cells may not be in all of the areas of the lake but move around with the wind and lake currents. It may be possible that one side of the lake has a high concentration while the opposite side has very low concentration.
Gloeo is one of the cyanobacterias that are being researched right now so we expect to learn more about their ecology and toxicity within the next year.
Hope this answers your questions and helps you out.
Jody Connor,
Limnologist, NH DES

[chuckdog]

i have noticed these things in my swimming pool here in mass. very weird. never noticed them before.

[Grant]

Last week, I noticed little white-ish dots on and just under the surface -- just a millimeter or two in diameter. Little spheres. I'd never seen then before. I wonder if this could be the same thing. Wonderful -- I was swimming in them quite a bit.

What causes this type of cyanobacteria?

We're screwing up the Lake at an unprecedented rate. (Note how I automatically assume it's a man-induced phenomenon...)

[Grant]

Information on the Gloeotrichia echinulata in Lake Sunapee:

http://www.lakesunapee.org/record_images/pdf/39.pdf

[jrc]

Bad things are always caused by something I don't like. So I'm betting these are caused by tunafish sandwiches, gangsta-rap, soap operas and Steven Seagal.

[Nagigator]

Its okra,reality shows, hip-hop music and Diane Sawyer>:laugh: Seriously, can anything be done to eradicate this nuisance?

[Kracken]

Yup it’s caused by man alright (in this case).

It can be present in warm shallow waters with high nutrients. It is common in lakes and ponds in the south. Here in New England it is rare however in places where lawn fertilizer runs off into a body of water it can raise the nutrient levels high enough to cause blooms in late summer.

[Jeanzb1]

Shore Things, thank you very much for your very helpful information!