Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt

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.mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt Sargasso Sea major currents in the North Atlantic Sargasso 2.svg
  The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt
  major currents in the North Atlantic

The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is a recurring Sargassum bloom in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the largest macroalgae bloom in the world. [2] [3]

Contents

History

The development of the belt 2011-2018 Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt.jpg
The development of the belt 2011–2018

Mats of Sargassum in this region of the Atlantic are not new, having been reported as far back as the 15th century. In the summer of 2011, a bloom large enough to be noticeable in satellite imagery appeared for the first time, and has appeared most summers since. [2] [4]

In 2023, the belt was estimated to weigh about 5.5 million metric tonnes and extended 5,000 miles (8,000 km), stretching from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. [5] [6] It was made of many individual patches, some up to an acre in surface area. [6]

A 1-kilometre-wide (0.62 mi) patch of sargassum in the Caribbean Sea SargassumBarbados (cropped1).jpg
A 1-kilometre-wide (0.62 mi) patch of sargassum in the Caribbean Sea

Effects

During heavy blooms, the huge tangles of seaweed can ensnare larger wildlife like dolphins, sometimes fatally. Huge amounts of seaweed wash up on beaches, rotting and attracting insects. This interferes with fishing and tourism, negatively impacting communities across the Caribbean. [7] As beached Sargassum decomposes, it releases hydrogen sulfide gas. Hydrogen sulfide smells like rotting eggs, and can irritate the eyes and throat, [8] being particularly harmful to people with respiratory problems such as asthma. [9] Vibrio bacteria, which can cause necrotizing fasciitis in extreme cases, are found in large numbers in the mats of seaweed. The bacteria readily stick to Sargassum algae and the plastic debris that gets tangled in it. [10] [11]

In 2022, the largest bloom on record was recorded, causing Guadeloupe to issue a health alert, as well as the US Virgin Islands issuing a state of emergency, requesting help from FEMA.[ citation needed ]

Cause

The buildup of Sargassum is caused by nutrients flowing into the Atlantic from water discharged by the Amazon and upwelling currents off West Africa. The algae does not originate from the nearby Sargasso Sea as was previously hypothesized, as the Sargassum mats found in that sea are composed of different morphological types of Sargassum than those that dominate the Sargassum Belt. [12]

The Sargassum Belt has also been found to possess lower biodiversity than the Sargasso Sea and is mainly composed of more highly nutrient-efficient organisms.[ citation needed ]

See also

References

  1. ↑ López Miranda, José Luis; Celis, Lourdes B.; Estévez, Miriam; Chávez, Valeria; van Tussenbroek, Brigitta I.; Uribe-Martínez, Abigail; Cuevas, Eduardo; Rosillo Pantoja, Izarelly; Masia, Luis; Cauich-Kantun, Citlali; Silva, Rodolfo (November 12, 2021). "Commercial Potential of Pelagic Sargassum spp. in Mexico". Frontiers in Marine Science. 8. Frontiers Media SA. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.768470 . ISSN   2296-7745. CC-BY icon.svg Material was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Archived October 16, 2017, at the Wayback Machine .
  2. 1 2 Wang, Mengqiu; Hu, Chuanmin; Barnes, Brian B.; Mitchum, Gary; Lapointe, Brian; Montoya, Joseph P. (July 5, 2019). "The great Atlantic Sargassum belt". Science . 365 (6448): 83–87. Bibcode:2019Sci...365...83W. doi: 10.1126/science.aaw7912 . ISSN   0036-8075. PMID   31273122. S2CID   195804245. Archived from the original on March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  3. ↑ Shao, Elena (April 19, 2023). "Those Seaweed Blobs Headed for Florida? See How Big They Are". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved April 19, 2023.
  4. ↑ Barberton, Zan (March 7, 2023). "The creeping threat of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt". The Guardian . ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Outlook of 2023 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico" (PDF). University of South Florida. March 1, 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  6. 1 2 Gibbens, Sarah (March 16, 2023). "A giant, rotting mass of seaweed threatens beach season in the U.S." National Geographic . Archived from the original on March 18, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  7. ↑ Yong, Ed (July 4, 2019). "Why Waves of Seaweed Have Been Smothering Caribbean Beaches". The Atlantic . Archived from the original on March 16, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  8. ↑ Marchante, Michelle (March 17, 2023). "Miami Beach and the Keys could get loads of seaweed. It's smelly and can cause these symptoms". Miami Herald .
  9. ↑ Coto, Dánica (August 3, 2022). "Record amount of seaweed is choking shores in the Caribbean". AP News . Archived from the original on December 10, 2022. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  10. ↑ Thomson, Jess (May 30, 2023). "Seaweed full of flesh-eating bacteria hitting Florida". Newsweek. Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  11. ↑ Luscombe, Richard (June 3, 2023). "Clumps of 5,000-mile seaweed blob bring flesh-eating bacteria to Florida". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved June 5, 2023.
  12. ↑ Schell, Jeffrey; Goodwin, Deborah; Siuda, Amy (September 1, 2015). "Recent Sargassum Inundation Events in the Caribbean: Shipboard Observations Reveal Dominance of a Previously Rare Form". Oceanography. 28 (3): 8–10. doi: 10.5670/oceanog.2015.70 . ISSN   1042-8275.
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