And they dont expect the remaining seaweed in the Atlantic Ocean to cause much trouble in Florida. In recent years, sargassum has made headlines due to its impact and accumulation on beaches in the Caribbean, Lucayan Archipelago, Antilles, and Florida. "Minimal Sargassum amount was found in the western [Caribbean Sea], including waters along the Mexicos [sic] Caribbean coast," they added. As for the western part of the panhandle, and from Mobile Bay up into the Mississippi River Delta, that area will get some Sargassum depending on how far north the loop current penetrates, Hu says. Nearly every year since 2011, sargassum has. Sargassum presents risks to human health as well. With increasing temperatures, that growth gets boosted. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt a goopy mass of floating seaweed stretching 5,000 miles . 'The sargassum season for Florida is gone': Mysterious seaweed Schell along with his colleagues Dr. Amy Siuda and Dr. Deborah Goodwin theorizes that sargassum is more likely to have a big year when climate conditions are favorable for all three morphotypes to thrive. What is sargassum? Here's why seaweed is piling up along Florida - NPR The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt once loomed over Florida beaches, threatening to send ashore piles of sulfur-scented seaweed that would smother sea turtles, aggravate asthma and turn away tourists. Plus, your own feed of TPG content. Best Caribbean Beaches Without Seaweed: Where to Go in 2023 "We can get an idea of when it will be fairly close," he said. One month ago we predicted this, said Chuanmin Hu, who is part of the USF research lab that tracks sargassum. Monthly maps of Sargassum density in the tropical Atlantic from March 2022 to March 2023. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Though it dropped in February, the belief is that it will continue to grow and make its way along the shores of Caribbean nations. Because sargassum undergoes seasonal growth cycles, some years are worse than others, and researchers are still trying to fully understand these cycles. Many can occur naturallyand can havepositive effects. It is a habitat, though, so we have to be mindful and respectful of the animals who call sargassum home.". An unexplained invasion of Sargassum seaweed has been taking place on the coasts of Caribbean countries in recent years. Over the past decade, the foul-smelling seaweedhas becomemore common on beaches around the Caribbean and the south Atlantic Ocean. Often called "the blob," the mass of seaweed began piling up on beaches throughout the Caribbean, Mexico and parts of the Southeast U.S. As summer is now in full swing, however, scientists with the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab found a drop in the amount of sargassum blooms. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt once loomed over Florida beaches, threatening to send ashore piles of sulfur-scented seaweed that would smother sea turtles, aggravate asthma and turn away tourists. The Biden administration declared a federal emergency after the U.S. Virgin Islands warned last month of "unusually high amounts" of sargassum affecting water production at a desalination plant near St. Croix that is struggling to meet demand amid a drought. 21. During the transport, instead of growing, it will die, he said. To understand, first you need to understand sargassum. Breathing in these toxic gases may cause respiratory, skin and neurocognitive symptoms in people that come in close contact with degrading sargasso. It then releases hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas and ammonia. Christopher Columbus wrote about floating mats of it in the Atlantic Ocean. It simply means that the amount is not alarming. Remember, the Atlantic Ocean is huge. Some island destinations, such as Barbados, have experienced huge influxes of the seaweed. The floats of sargasso are usually several feet deep and cover thousands of square miles of the ocean. Relative to the surface area of the Atlantic Ocean, the portion covered by Sargassum is almost nothing, but the total amount is huge, Hu says. Floats from the Sargasso Sea rarely reach the Caribbean, but with the proliferation of sargasso weed in the NERR region, the Caribbean gets flooded more often and with a huge quantity. But it is bad for tourism, the economy and the environment when too much accumulates just offshore or on beaches. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. But the findings for May turned out to be a surprise, in a good way, he says. This climate report is funded by Florida International University, the Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. More than 24 million tons of sargassum blanketed the Atlantic in June, up from 18.8 million tons in May, according to a monthly report published by the University of South Florida's Optical Oceanography Lab that noted "a new historical record.". And with the heavy machinery that is used to extract the seaweed, they remove a lot of sand, says the UNAM expert. Attempts to use sargassum as fertilizer, food, biofuel, construction material or medicinal products continue, but many Caribbean islands are unable to remove the vast amounts of the seaweed because they are struggling financially and have limited resources. The arrival of sargassum in the Caribbean can be an opportunity for various industries, and in recent years different initiatives have promoted its use as a raw material. Scientists predict that the amount of sargussum will remain minimal in the Gulf of Mexico for the next 2 to 3 months. Despite what satellite images show, however, it isn't one continuous blob. This climate report is funded byFlorida International University,the Knight Foundation and theDavid and Christina Martin Family Foundationin partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. This year, however, tourists may have noticed something not-so-pleasant awaiting them on the beach: stinky, brownsargassum. Hu said. No sargassum in Quintana Roo, government says; reports say otherwise The Rum & Sargassum program in St. James, Barbados, is creating an inexpensive, alternative fuel source for vehicles using locally sourced waste products like rum distillery wastewater, sheep manure and sargassum. Huge masses of foul-smelling seaweed in the Caribbean could cause Mejore su francs con solo 15 minutos al da. If you go to the beach in the next month or so, you may still see some sargassum here and there, but its a small amount. Saving endangered right whales pits advocates against lobstermen, Growing group of mayors at odds with experts over whale deaths and offshore windmills, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. An additional 36 Quintana Roo beaches have very low quantities of sargassum, while only 15 are completely untainted by the brown seaweed. Sargassum snapshot: June amount, locations and what to expect in July Be prepared to visit a variety of nearby beaches and plan a few alternate activities, like visiting an aquarium or botanical garden, as a backup plan. "With climate change and global warming, we've noticed the low years aren't getting as low as they used to, and the high years are getting higher," Schell said. Warmer temperatures coincided with blooms in high latitude regions such as Alaska and the Baltic Sea. But when it grows too thick, dolphins and turtles cannot break through it to the surface and often choke. Symptoms are usually mild and resolve with time. "In the tropical Atlantic, everything was right," Hu said. In the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, the dominant species are Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans, says Chuanmin Hu, professor of optical oceanography at the University of South Florida. 8.7 million tons of seaweed headed to Florida waters this summer. Sargassum, the brown tide that is invading the Caribbean The Sargasso Sea, in the North Atlantic Ocean, is an exceptional ecosystem that provides food and shelter for hundreds of species, some of them unique to this floating habitat. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands could get hit hard, Barnes said. Sargassum is neither destructive nor harmful under normal circumstances, even when left unattended on beaches. For the last few months, the talk has been all about Sargassum, also referred to as the seaweed blob, the floating algae thats washed ashore in places such as the Florida Keys, Barbados and Cancun, Mexico. But on Tuesday, the government announced it suspended removal efforts because the level of decomposition made it impractical. The fertilizer industry, namely the Fortune 500 company The Mosaic Co. that dominates Florida phosphate mining, has long advocated exploring potential uses for the waste. Bryan said he is now trying to find local funds to clean beaches, "but a lot of things need money right now.". Overall, the amount of sargassum . Algal-bloom-favorable seasons in temperate seas have increased with warmer temperatures. Sargassum Monitoring - Official Maps & Forecasts See what a point or mile is worth with our appraisals of a loyalty programs currency, based on redemption values. That doesnt mean Florida is sargassum-free, Hu warned. Find the right card for you. Sargassum has gas-filled structures called pneumatocysts that look like little berries and help to keep it afloat. But there are no laws to protect its many outdoor workers, On the front lines of extreme heat in South Florida. Patches of sargassum have been spotted in the Atlantic Ocean for centuries, but since. Playa Norte on Isla Mujeres "We've found that there are actually three distinct morphotypes found in drifting sargassum blooms," shared Schell. S argassum is a yellow, reddish, or brown seaweed that washes up on some beaches. The concentration of algae is so heavy in some parts of the eastern Caribbean that the French island of Guadeloupe issued a health alert in late July. Her work has appeared inNational Geographic TravelerandThe Washington Postand on CNN. Recently, the mass that is washing up on the eastern Caribbean shores was traced back to the north shores of Brazil, which is a part of the north equatorial recirculation region (NERR). Global community We screen and support with no geographic borders. Sargassum, a naturally occurring type of macroalgae, has grown at an alarming rate this winter. A record-breaking 13-million-ton mass of sargassum seaweed was detected floating across the Atlantic Ocean back in the spring. The belt stretches across the Atlantic Ocean from Africa to Florida and the Yucatan Peninsula and is as much as 200 to 300 miles wide. "This has been devastating for over a decade.". Nonetheless, Rodrguez explains that the resources invested so far have not been efficient. In addition to serving as a platform for the protection and sustenance of marine fauna, it is part of the migration path of species such as eels, turtles and whales. Photo taken in 2018. After months of invading beaches along the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, the nuisance sargassum seaweed has significantly disappeared. A woman walks on a bridge surrounded by sargassum in Puerto Morelos, near Cancun. "Very little Sargassum was found by the end of June in the Straits of Florida and along the east coast of Florida. In 2021, she won the Kavli Science Journalism Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science for a Quirks and Quarks audio special on the history and future of Black people in science. The issue then becomes what to do with it. In addition to being unsightly and foul-smelling when it washes ashore, Sargassum has some potential health effects to be aware of. You are now leaving AARP.org and going to a website that is not operated by AARP. "One month ago we predicted this," said Chuanmin Hu, who is part of the USF . "If it all stays offshore, we wouldn't really have a problem," Barnes said. If you go to the beach in the next month or so, you may still see some sargassum here and there, but its a small amount. According to Rodrguez, even though there is not enough information on the biomass that is reaching the different regions of the Caribbean, which fluctuates every year, everything suggests that not only the problem will remain, but it will take a turn for the worse.. Spanning roughly 5,000 miles about twice the width of the United States the thick. Blooms affected more than 8% of the global ocean area in 2020, a 13.2% increase from 2003. But Hu said the sargassum left in the Atlantic is unlikely to bother swimmers and sunbathers in Florida. "We are still refining our projection methods to better predict where sargassum will end up each year, but we do understand that windward sides of islands are more exposed," Schell said. David and Christina Martin Family Foundation, Thousands of educators protest Florida book ban outside of convention center. Global climate events, such as El Nino, also showconnections to bloom frequency and movement. Find exclusive interviews, smart advice, free novels, full documentaries, fun daily features and much more all a benefit of your AARP membership on Members Only Access. Life is full of surprise.. (Victor Ruiz Garcia/Reuters) Every winter, millions of Canadians head down to the Caribbean in search of sunshine, pristine beaches and crystal-clear waters. Massive bloom of seaweed in tropical Atlantic raises the risk for Although sargassum levels plummeted in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, theres still plenty of seaweed left floating in the Atlantic Ocean. When necessary, supportive treatment may be provided. DeSantis OKs radioactive roads bill, clears way to study use of toxic fertilizer waste, The sargassum season for Florida is gone: Mysterious seaweed disappearances continue, South Florida military bases draft plan for climate risk. TPG spoke with oceanography experts to find out. Since 2011, large amounts of sargassum have invaded the Caribbean every year except 2013 an anomaly that scientists believe may have resulted from a lack of nutrients and a change in wind strength and direction. Sargassum Toxicity: Here's what you need to know - DAN Boater But there could be a problem lurking on. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. Hu says the amount of the algae had always increased from April to May. But the macroalgae has mushroomed in sizeover the past12 years or so, which makes it more likely to see large piles of seaweed that make it difficult to walk, sit or play onbeaches. Hu compiled additional data for The Associated Press that showed sargassum levels for the eastern Caribbean at a near record high this year, second only to those reported in July 2018. 9 Best Caribbean Beaches Without Sargassum Seaweed In 2023 Since the problem was pointed out by environmentalists and hotel owners, governments have sought ways to clean their affected beaches in order to recover tourism. It can also prevent hatchling sea turtles fromreaching the ocean. Sargassum is usually found in a region called the Sargasso Sea, where it tends to circulate in a vortex called a gyre, through a five-million square kilometre belt that runs from Chesapeake Bay in the mid-Atlantic, all the way to the Caribbean. Two-thirds of the sargassum in the western Caribbean and a quarter of the sargassum in the eastern Caribbean also vanished. It will come across the Central Atlantic and into the Caribbean, and into the Gulf of Mexico through the straits of Florida.". Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the authors alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. First, hotels and towns need to swallow the cost of removing these masses, in order to protect a lucrative tourism industry. Sargassum: The seaweed deluge hitting Caribbean shores "In general, everything flows west. By the time it reaches Florida, if it does reach Florida, the amount will be minimal, Hu said. It may drift into the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and eventually into the Strait of Florida later this summer but this late in the year, Hu said, sargassum is no longer rapidly multiplying. The belt is already beginning to wash upin the Florida Keys and Barbados and elsewhere in the region, but researchers don't know where the bulk of it could wind up. Caribbean beaches are struggling with record amounts of seaweed - USA TODAY It is affected by sargassum at different times of the year than the rest of the islands. It's about, I think, 3,000 square kilometres, with no gap.". Is climate change the same thing as global warming? The beaches on the leeward side are probably still great beaches to visit," he added. Dr. Denoble is Vice President of Research at DAN. Overall, the size of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt only shrank a few percentage points last month. In the Cayman Islands, a thick carpet of sargassum had prompted officials to launch a trial program in which crews pumped more than 2,880 square feet (268 square meters) of seaweed out of the water.