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Satellite Spots Mystery Patch of Black Water Near Florida By SPACE.com Staff
posted: 03:20 pm ET 22 March 2002Scientists are stumped by a strange black mass of water in Florida Bay, clearly seen in a newly released image taken by NASA's SeaWiFS satellite.
The photo was made Feb. 4, at the height of the event. Scientists are not sure if the mass, which has since broken up into patches, was a bloom of algae, a breakout of bacteria or perhaps the result of some other event.
One scientist speculated that perhaps some underwater fountain is spewing black water, according to Thursday's Naples Daily News.
The black stuff was first spotted in January by pilots looking for fish, according to the newspaper. The broken patches now are spread along 126 miles north of the Florida Keys and west of mainland Florida.
Though no dead fish were found, fishermen have reported an abysmal season in the area and unusual behavior in the few fish they did find, the Daily News reported.
The Bradenton Herald also reported, on Wednesday, that fishing was poor in the area and that it was barren of marine life.
"Have we encountered this before? No, not that I know of," Karen Steidinger, a Florida marine biologist, told the Herald. "Something like this, I haven't heard of before."
Meanwhile, researchers have sampled the water in hopes of identifying the source.