Ground-truthing of remote-sensing of surface chlorophyll concentrations in Pigeon Lake was performed to calibrate a chlorophyll retrieval algorithm.
High performance liquid chromatography and advanced digitalized flow cytometry were used to confirm that the chlorophyll retrieval algorithm pertained directly to cyanobacteria and not other major algal groups.
Whole-lake estimates of the severity and duration of cyanobacterial blooms in Pigeon Lake showed significant seasonality but not a notable interannual trend between 2016 and 2022.
Time-integrated satellite imagery of buoyant cyanobacterial blooms in Pigeon Lake from 2016 to 2022 revealed surprisingly that they were not mainly concentrated along the southeastern portion of the lake by the prevailing westerly winds, but rather they were most prevalent in the northwest sector of the lake basin.
A potential explanation for this finding involves terrestrial nutrient subsidies from inflowing streams fueling “cyanobacterial nursery” sediments along the shallow northwest sector of the lake.