Huge seaweed bloom is largest seen
Although reportedly first seen by Christopher Columbus within the fifteenth century, massive yearly seaweed blooms of sargassum – a brown macroalgae – are a comparatively new phenomenon within the Atlantic Ocean. Since 2011, a great Atlantic sargassum belt has bloomed within the Atlantic in spring and summer time. And this yr’s bloom is the most important on report.
As of April 2023, this yr’s sargassum bloom is headed for the Caribbean and east coast of Florida. Whereas some areas are already seeing the sargassum come ashore, the majority of it’s anticipated to reach in June or July. Brian Barnes, a marine scientist on the Optical Oceanography Laboratory on the College of South Florida, said:
Main beaching occasions are inevitable across the Caribbean and alongside the east coast of Florida, because the belt continues to maneuver westward.
Getting a view of the seaweed bloom from space
The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer on NASA’s Terra and Aqua satellites bought a view of the sargassum from excessive above. The info allowed scientists on the College of South Florida (USF) to create a map of its distribution and density.
As of March 2023, the best focus was within the central Atlantic Ocean. On the map under, pink and orange present the best density. Scientists at USF mentioned the sargassum belt final month totaled about 13 million tons.
That’s a report quantity for March.
Is sargassum good or unhealthy?
So is sargassum good or unhealthy? As with most issues in life, an excessive amount of could be a unhealthy factor. Over the open ocean, smaller quantities present habitat for marine life equivalent to turtles. Sargassum additionally produces oxygen for sea life by photosynthesis. However an excessive amount of sargassum can do the alternative.
When sargassum clogs the ocean close to the shore, some marine life can discover it tough to maneuver and breathe. And when the sargassum sinks to the seafloor en masse, it smothers coral and different life.
Sargassum that has washed up onto the seaside decomposes and smells like rotten eggs. And, on April 6, 2023, The Weather Channel warned Florida residents and guests to not contact the seaweed.
A number of the organisms that reside within the seaweed, equivalent to microscopic jellyfish, larvae, and different creatures, could cause rashes.
A rising downside
Since its discovery in 2011, the nice Atlantic sargassum belt has been rising bigger. As you’ll be able to see from the chart under, the summer time of 2018 introduced large quantities of sargassum ashore. That yr, in July, scientists estimated there was a peak of 20 million tons of sargassum.
So why is sargassum changing into extra plentiful? NASA Earth Observatory said:
Though the reason for this progress isn’t instantly clear, the researchers present in previous analysis that nutrient inputs from fertilizers and different sources are correlated with bigger blooms. Altering ocean circulation patterns are additionally an element as a result of sargassum grows quicker when sea floor temperatures are regular or cooler than common.
Backside line: An enormous seaweed bloom of sargassum within the Atlantic Ocean is headed towards the Caribbean and east coast of Florida. Some locals are already seeing the brown macroalgae washing ashore.
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