A new satellite image released by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) showed a huge portion of the Great Lakes covered with ice.

In the high-resolution image captured by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua satellite, 88 percent of the Great Lakes were seen covered with ice -- an event that has not happened since a couple of decades ago, said a statement released by the NASA's Earth Observatory.

Usually, at its peak, the average ice cover in the Great Lakes is just a little over 50 percent. Reaching 80 percent is very unusual in the area.

"Persistently low temperatures across the Great Lakes region are responsible for the increased areal coverage of the ice. Low temperatures are the dominant mechanism for thickening the ice, but secondary factors like clouds, snow, and wind also play a role," explained Nathan Kurtz, cryospheric scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, in a statement to Earth Observatory.

Another scientist added that just like last year, when ice was untimely reportedly seen on the bays and harbors of the Great Lakes, the area is, again, having an early ice season. It is because of very low temperatures in the fall and early winter.

However, the ice could have ecological effects on the regions around the Great Lakes. "The biggest impact we'll see is shutting down the lake-effect snow," said Guy Meadows, director of Michigan Technological University's Great Lakes Research Center, to CBS News.

Meadows said that the when the temperature in north and west gets hotter, "lake-effect" snow gets dumped on the area. Even so, that could be beneficial for the Great Lakes as it had low water levels last year. Another advantage is that the ice could protect spawning beds of white fish, as well as other species, from winter storms.