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It can cause major problems in water supplies, kill off fish and even give humans nausea, numbness and liver disease.

Now the problem of algae in lakes has got so bad, Nasa is using a special sensor on the International Space Station to monitor it from orbit.

The space agency has already released a stunning series of images showing the effect algae can have on Earth's lakes.

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A Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) image of a massive Microcystis bloom (shown in green) in western Lake Erie, Sept. 3, 2011, as confirmed by spectral analysis. On the right is an image created by scientists to better show off the algae. 

'If you've been watching recent news of algal bloom concerns in Lake Erie, you know that the right conditions for algae can lead to contamination of local water sources, potentially impacting aquatic life and humans,' Nasa said.

The International Space Station's Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) is mounted to the exterior of the orbiting laboratory.

It provides a way for researchers to see 90 wavelengths of light not visible to the human eye.

This can help with research on harmful algal blooms (HABs) because they, along with other organic materials, have a 'spectral signature.' 

The biological matter emits a unique wavelength as it absorbs and scatters solar energy, resulting in fluorescence and backscattering. 

Essentially the light reflects back to HICO, which reads the data like a fingerprint.

A Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) image of western Lake Erie, Aug. 15, 2014, taken from the orbital perspective of the International Space Station.

Researchers can use the information from HICO to 'see' what they're missing with their own senses.

With it they study biological and chemical signatures for aquatic and terrestrial materials. 

This can reveal the presence of microscopic plants, organic compounds, suspended sediments and other factors controlling water quality. 

The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) as seen aboard the International Space Station, where it is mounted to the Japanese Experiment Module External Facility.

'Historically, blooms have been visually observed by the naked eye due to the discoloration of the water,' said Ruhul Amin, Ph.D., principal investigator for the HICO CASIS-NRL project. 

'Now optical sensors can detect these changes in the color of the water and quantitatively measure the spectral radiance changes due to algae blooms.'

In the Lake Erie area researchers are looking at phytoplankton and algal blooms that occur regularly in summer months, often in the harmful quantities found this year. 

'Unlike conventional multi-spectral images, the high spatial and spectral resolution afforded by HICO enables us to develop new approaches to more fully utilize hyperspectral data to distinguish HAB species from space,' said Amin. 

'Conventional multi-spectral ocean color imagery in general does not contain sufficient information to discriminate between bloom species, but HICO's contiguous bands collect information that can enable us to identify the species.'

A Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean (HICO) image of western Lake Erie, Aug. 15, 2014, taken from the orbital perspective of the International Space Station.

Researchers at the NRL-SSC have used HICO's ability to show visible and near infrared wavelengths to follow the Lake Erie blooms for years. 

The most recent HICO data collections for the area took place in mid-August as the station passed over the Great Lakes region. 

This information, in addition to ground data and other resources, can help with developing and validating bloom-detection algorithms.

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