May 5, 2009 — First spotted near St. Croix on April 9, an algae plume so large it can be seen by satellite is hanging around the area, according to marine scientist Tyler Smith, an assistant professor at the University of the Virgin Islands.
"It's still covering most of the region, but it seems to be less intense," he said.
Smith and his colleagues went out Monday in a boat to evaluate the situation about 11 miles south of Saba Rock off St. Thomas' south coast. This is the same location they checked several weeks ago when they discovered the plume was covering most of the Virgin Islands.
The pea soup-like algae plume, believed to have come from South America, drops down 60 to 100 feet from the sea surface, but Smith said the water below the plume is "clear, Caribbean water."
In addition to the algae, the plume contains fresh water which Smith said contributes to the plume's stability.
It will eventually dissipate, but Smith said when that will be remains unknown.
"It needs to be pushed out by currents," he said.
Meanwhile, snorkelers, divers and swimmers aren't finding the clear water they expected.
"The particles were hitting my face because there's so much stuff in the water," St. John charter boat captain Bruce Masterson said of a recent snorkeling session.
Several dive shop owners and staff reported that although the visibility was down, people are still going diving.
"We're making lemonade out of lemons," St. John's Low Key Dive Shop owner Ann Marie Estes said.
While her customers do say they're disappointed to find that the visibility is only about 10 feet instead of the usual 50 feet, Estes said that to compensate she's sending out three extra people on the dive crew. One of them is to ensure safety since visibility is low and the other two are there to point out reef features her customers might miss because of the poor visibility.
On St. Thomas, Michelle Winckel at Underwater Safaris said her customers continued to dive despite the poor visibility.
"They're dealing with it," she said.
This is the first algae plume Estes said she has seen in her 24 years in the dive business. While the algae plume occurs every year, scientists said that this is the first time anyone recalls it flowing this far north.
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