Lost Lagoon Algae Bloom Aug 10 2009 Canon A530_IMG_0705

Lost Lagoon Algae Bloom Aug 10 2009 Canon A530_IMG_0705, originally uploaded by VancouverDoug.

Recently Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park has turned a rather nifty shade of turquoise. No big surprise given that the days have averaged above 30'C the past month (it seems). One theory, the scary one, is that this color change is due to seismic activity deep under Vancouver and is a precursor of "the big one". Up close however it's a fairly obvious algae bloom due to the elevated temperature.

Here's a snippet from the Vancouver Sun on August 6th:

"The Vancouver park board is testing the water in Stanley Park's Lost Lagoon after a section of it turned an unnatural turquoise colour.

The colour change so far is localized in the shallow narrows north of the lagoon's pedestrian footbridge.

Most of the lagoon appeared to be unaffected on Wednesday, with some patches of cloudy blue visible south of the bridge, but the main body of water remaining clear.

A slight discoloration was first noted Tuesday by Stanley Park Ecological Society members, but samples didn't end up on executive director Patricia Thomson's desk until Wednesday afternoon, when the colour transformation was jaw-dropping."

Not to be outdone by panic or rationality I've come up with a third theory. The color is due to alien nutrients being added to the lagoon to transform it into an incubator for the advance warriors of an interstellar invasion force. However, sigh, no one considers the idea 'plausible'. Too "Hollywood" they say. :)