These nutrients are key ingredients in fertilizer, and also are present in animal manure. FOX Weather multimedia journalist Brandy Campbell spoke with beach goers on the appearance of the seaweed. 2023 www.palmbeachpost.com. Thats because strong south winds have pushed the Gulf Loop Current, which originates in the Caribbean, farther north than normal, he said. He has linked the surge in sargassum to flow from the Mississippi River, extreme flooding in the Amazon basin, and themouth of the Congo, where upwelling and vertical mixing of the ocean can bring up nutrients that feed the blooms. MASSIVE BLOB OF SMELLY SEAWEED COULD MEAN TROUBLE FOR FLORIDA BEACH VACATIONS. Now, intensive cattle ranching and soybean farming in the Amazon basin are sending rising levels of nitrogen and phosphorus into the Atlantic Ocean via the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. But eventually, more of it washes ashore. Lapointe, B., Brewton, R., Herren, L., Wang, M. Hu, C., McGillicuddy Jr., D., Lindell, S., Hernandez, F., Morton, P. 2021. Bloom frequency increased globally at a rate of nearly 60%. Seaweed sargassum blob in Florida is growing: Updates on the bloom Sargassum has become a recurring seaweed monster, but humanity is the real villain. "A picture's worth 1,000 words." Sargassum, a type of seaweed, has collected along the shoreline of many a Florida beach in spring and summer 2023. Huge Atlantic seaweed bloom threatens beaches in Florida, Mexico - NBC News Florida seaweed season 2023: What the sargassum looks like this summer Sargassum is a type of rootless and leafy algae that floats around the ocean. The Gulf Stream is the warm, fast-moving current that hugs Floridas coastline, transporting sargassum onto our beaches. Email Quinton White, executive director of Jacksonville Universitys Marine Science Research Institute, with questions about our waterways at qwhite@ju.edu. Massive amounts of sargassum seaweed smother Florida's beaches, Sargassum seaweed invades the Florida Keys over the weekend, Watch: Massive blob of sargassum seaweed invading Florida Keys, University of South Florida College of Marine Sciences, The University of South Florida (USF) says. rights reserved. Coastal Mexico and other Caribbean countries close to the source receive larger quantities of Sargassum than we see in Florida. Si vous ne souhaitez pas que nos partenaires et nousmmes utilisions des cookies et vos donnes personnelles pour ces motifs supplmentaires, cliquez sur Refuser tout. In my work as a coastal scientist, I've watched these invasions become the new normal, choking beaches and turning clear blue waters golden brown. We also know that there has been an increase in nutrients in the ocean too. It is difficult to predict when and where it will wash ashore. It tends to appear in Florida beaches in the spring. Anas focus is on the coastal and marine resources of Miami-Dade County, and she delivers extension programming that is audience-specific and addresses the needs of both the environment and local stakeholders. Messy Florida beaches are 'inevitable' as record seaweed mass expands By Elena Shao April 19, 2023 321 Scientists say they spotted more than 13 million tons of Sargassum, a yellowish-brown seaweed, drifting in the Atlantic Ocean last month a record for the. Sargassum gathers and grows in the borderless Sargassum Sea in the Atlantic Ocean. At this point, the USF Sargassum Outlook Bulletin tentatively predicts the month of June for the peak of the Sargassum abundance in our area. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. In 2018 and 2022 having record-breaking increases, Brian Barnes, an assistant research professor at the University of South Florida's College of Marine Science, told NBC News. The "Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt" is a massive bloom of brown algae that stretches from the coast of West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. Sea turtle nesting season starts in May. Another major source of nutrients is dust clouds from the Sahara, which can stretch for thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, carried by trade winds. Experimental Weekly Sargassum Inundation Risk (SIR v1.3) Recent reports of sizable deposits along the beaches south of Melbourne, with some now being seen in the St. Augustine area. In other areas, it is removed completely from the beach and transported to the local landfill (adding to the costs of removal). FOR SUBSCRIBERS: Saving endangered right whales pits advocates against lobstermen, GREEN ENERGY: Growing group of mayors at odds with experts over whale deaths and offshore windmills. In the Florida Keys, a record bloom of sargassum seaweed continues drifting into lagoons and marinas and piling on beaches. Suspended by round "berries" filled with gas, the seaweed offers food, sanctuary and breeding grounds for crabs, shrimp, whales, migratory birds and some 120 species of fish. While sargassum is a naturally occurring species, many variables affect its abundance, or amount that it grows. Seaweed blob tracking map shows Sargassum headed for Florida in 2023 - HITC They should deposit the seaweed at the front of the sand fencing next to the sand dunes, where it can act as a sand trap and provide nutrients for dune grass to help stabilize the dunes, he said. 2023 FOX News Network, LLC. The giant sargassum blobs piling up on the Florida coast might harbor flesh-eating bacteria. Sargassum is an amazing brown algae that has fascinated marine scientists for decades. 0:00. Sargassum, a smelly seaweed, may be coming soon to a Gulf beach near you. 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. Florida beaches brace for 5,000-mile blob of seaweed to deposit rotting That nutrient-rich water from the Amazon River flows into the Caribbean Sea. University of Florida Electronic Information Data Source. In the open ocean, islands of sargassum create a rich ecosystem that ocean explorer Sylvia Earle calls "a golden floating rainforest." Although the seaweed itself cannot harm your health, tiny sea creatures that live in Sargassum can cause This is an update of an article published Aug. 2, 2021. All If you like beach combing, carefully sift through some sargassum. Sargassum can deprive coastal waters from oxygen, limiting animal movement. In the Gulf, sargassum serves as essential habitat for young sea turtles while crabs, bait fish and other critters that hang around it are munched on by game fish such as mahi mahi and wahoo, he said. They found: Blooms have been at least indirectly linked to climate change in several ways, but especially to thewarming temperatures that bring more extreme rainfall that washes silt and pollutants into waterways. Sargassum FAQ | NOAA CoastWatch Consider subscribing to a Florida newspaper, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy, On some beaches in Florida, the "blobs" of crunchy, dry, brown stinky seaweed range. The belt is actually a collection of island-like masses that can stretch for miles. Experts say this year's bloom is particularly alarming, according to reporting by Denise Chow for NBC News published Saturday. However, many people are still swimming through it, and others notice its visual impact along the shore. 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. So, thats just a forecast. CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSES: Why scientists say humans are to blame. PDF Outlook of 2022 Sargassum - University of South Florida This impacted the Florida Keys and Floridas marine coasts. . Nous, Yahoo, faisons partie de la famille de marques Yahoo. "We can get an idea of when it will be fairly close," he said. . The latest:Giant mats of seaweed lurk off Florida's coast and have beached in spurts but will peak soon. . While the big blob of sargassum may be heading into the Gulf of Mexico, via currents, Fogg says its unlikely to significantly impact the Destin-Fort Walton Beach area. Waves filled with sargassum continue washing up on beaches in the Caribbean Sea and southern Florida and the stacks of seaweed are expected to get worse in the weeks ahead. The blob is not one contiguous mass, but rather multiple clumps and mats of sargassum that make up the GASB (USF Sargassum Outlook Bulletin, March 31, 2023). Meet the sargassum belt, a 5,000-mile-long snake of seaweed circling Florida Just this April, sargassum levels in the Caribbean Sea reached a new record, with the overall belt growing to an. How do we explain the sudden increase in this floating seaweed? This brown tide rots on the beach, driving away tourists, harming local fishing industries and requiring costly cleanups. Over the last few decades, there has been a dramatic amount of deforestation with an increase in agricultural activity in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. Some of those that populate the Atlantic Ocean grow on the surface of the water, since they don't form roots to attach themselves to rocks like other algae. SARGASSUM Sargassum is a type of brown seaweed that is washing up on beaches in Florida. DEFINITIONS: Is climate change the same thing as global warming? It does not uniformly cover beaches when it washes up. But the floating matsalso wind up on beaches in Jamaica and all around the coast of Florida. All rights reserved. Vous pouvez modifier vos choix tout moment en cliquant sur les liens Paramtres de confidentialit et des cookies ou Tableau de bord sur la confidentialit prsents sur nos sites et dans nos applications. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands could get hit hard, Barnes said. Blooms affected more than 8% of the global ocean area in 2020, a 13.2% increase from 2003. Hydrogen sulfide has a very unpleasant odor, like rotten eggs. The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. It is in the news today because of a massive bloom occurring in the Caribbean Sea.Sargassum normally grows in . Climate change can affect ocean circulation and the movement of nutrients that feed phytoplankton blooms. As of April 2023, this year's sargassum bloom is headed for the Caribbean and east coast of Florida. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) classifies sargassum as essential fish habitat. TTY users may also call 711 (Florida Relay Service). While our area will certainly see sargassum on our beaches, like every year, we do not expect the quantities to be overwhelming, he said. "In general, everything flows west. The seaweed has existed for centuries, but climate change and inflows of nitrogen and man-made fertilizer from rivers have caused. Sargassum might smell sometimes and it might look unappealing, but there is no health issue., Memorial Day weekend water rescues: Large crowds lead to over 30 water rescues, drowning at Crab Island over Memorial Day weekend. But we cannot say that we are not in June yet.". It is the largest seaweed bloom in the world weighing approximately 20 million tons and is visible from outer space. Is there really a record amount of seaweed out. Special to Jacksonville Florida Times-Union USA TODAY NETWORK. Owners and/or managers of condominiums, hotels and other beachfront properties who want to remove sargassum from the beach next to their buildings are free to do so by hand, which doesnt require a permit, he said. An algal bloom refers to an increase of biomass that becomes higher than average (Havens 2018). Sargassum is at the mercy of the tides, waves, wind and currents. Fogg told the council that He and the Coastal Resource team have been collecting weekly water samples in coordination with Florida Fish and Wildlife, and says theyve yet to detect any red tide. Sangalang is a lead digital producer for USA TODAY Network-Florida. Contributing: George Petras and Jennifer Borresen, USA TODAY. PDF Ron DeSantis Mission Governor of all people in Florida Scott A. Rivkees How does climate change affect you? Sargassum seaweed blob heading to Florida explained | CNN Huge Mass of Sargassum Seaweed Is Targeting Florida's Coast, With A Giant Blob of Seaweed Is Heading to Florida - The New York Times Sargassum grows in the calm, clear waters of the Sargasso Sea -- a 2 million-square-nautical-mile haven of biodiversity that lies east of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean. This year the amount of algae is overwhelming. Thick masses of sargassum on beaches can make it difficult or impossible for endangered sea turtles to dig nests and lay eggs on beaches. Florida Seaweed Problem 2023: Everything You Need to Know Before You That's bad news for destinations like Miami and Fort Lauderdale that will struggle to clean their shorelines. Global climate events, such as El Nino, also showconnections to bloom frequency and movement. This impacted the Florida Keys and Florida's marine coasts. Si vous souhaitez personnaliser vos choix, cliquez sur Grer les paramtres de confidentialit. Blooms of much smaller algae amicroscopic species known asphytoplankton increased in size and frequency around the world from 2003 to 2020, the researchers concluded in the Nature study. To request materials in accessible format, sign language interpreters, CART and/or any accommodation to participate in any Miami-Dade County, Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces sponsored program or meeting, please contact Gisel Prado, 305-755-7848 or [email protected] at least 7 days in advance to initiate your request. "It's a complex picture. In South Florida, communities mainly use the seaweed as mulch, but this requires thoroughly washing it to remove the salt, either naturally via rainfall or by spraying it with fresh water. The challenge has since extended to the contiguous United States as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt drifts towards Florida. The University of South Florida (USF) says the 13-million-ton blob of sargassum seaweed floating across the Atlantic Ocean set a record for March, and the numbers experts are currently seeing indicate it could be a record-high sargassum seaweed this year. He featured local human rights activists Connell Crooms and Sara Mahmoud. "Because this is a major year at a minimum, and its likely to be a record year. Signs warning beachgoers about the sargassum are posted along beaches. Definitions explained. An enormous. Nearly every year since 2011, sargassum has inundated Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and Florida coastlines in warm months, peaking in June and July. Hyperspectral discrimination of floating mats of seagrass wrack and the macroalgae Sargassum in coastal waters of Greater Florida Bay using airborne remote sensing. On land, sargassum begins to rot andproduces smellyhydrogen sulfide and ammonia, which can irritate eyes, ears, and noses. Mostly, it doesnt wash up in large amounts like the sargassum., Sargassum seaweed washes ashore north of Ormond Beach. Fogg said county officials have received a number of calls in recent weeks from beachgoers who expressed concern about the accumulated sargassum. Researchers say . "It's not a bad thing to have the sargassum in the ocean," said Brian Barnes, an assistant research professor at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Africa and South America saw the most frequent blooms, more than 6.3 a year. 2015, Doyle & Franks 2015). Winds, currents and even small storms can influence where the sargassum moves. Stephen P. Leatherman is a professor of coastal science at Florida International University. But in recent years, large quantities of sargassum have drifted west, forming what researchers call the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt. Who are the people painted in the mural on the towers on the St. Johns River that you see from the Hart Bridge? Go to the beach early in the day, after beach cleaning has occurred. Sargassum headed for Florida can be dangerous . Remote Sensing of Environment 167, p. 247-258. Barnes and his University of South Florida colleagues use NASA satellite data to map the Great . In 2022, Miami-Dade County spent $6 million to clear sargassum from just four popular beaches. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. "Sargassum does not fully cover any part of the ocean, and sargassum is not toxic. 8.7 million tons of seaweed headed to Florida waters this summer. The continuous accumulation of sargassum brough in by daily tides results in large carpets of algae on local beaches. In open areas like beaches, however, moving air usually dilutes the gas to non-harmful levels. Rethinking the role of nitrogen and phosphorus in the eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Science, 365 p. 83-87. https://waterlust.com/blogs/the-waterlust-blog/sea-sun-sand-sargassum, University of South Florida, March 31, 2023 Sargassum Outlook Bulletin: https://optics.marine.usf.edu/projects/SaWS/pdf/Sargassum_outlook_2023_bulletin3_USF.pdf, by Ana Zangroniz By clicking Sign up, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider Ocean currents and gyres (large systems of circular ocean currents formed by global wind patterns and forces created by Earths rotation) work as an easy transport for sargassum. We may have another pulse of it. April 10 (UPI) -- An unwelcome visitor is headed for Florida and the Caribbean: huge floating mats of sargassum, or free-floating brown seaweed. On the beach, shorebirds like to pick bugs and other creatures from the seaweed, he said. The Sargasso Sea is typically composed of little islands of sargassum that allow a very diverse ecosystem to exist. The algae can also destroy coastal ecosystems, suffocate coral, harm wildlife, threaten infrastructure, and decrease air quality. 2023 , Get The Coast LLC. The 2023 sargassum seaweed forecast is looking pretty bleak what started invading Florida beaches this week has spread across the Atlantic. More on local beaches: Sea turtle nesting season starts in May. If that sounds familiar, look no further than our own St. Johns River and Indian River Lagoon. Red tide,which occurs when algae overgrows and produces toxins, can cause fish kills and pose health risks to humans and animals. PDF Outlook of 2023 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Increased nutrients led to algae blooms here too. Seaweed, sargassum bloom could reach South Florida beaches in March For more on the MSRI, visit ju.edu/msri. An April sargassum forecast by the University of South Florida found mats of seaweed clogging the Caribbean Sea last month in amounts higher than previous Aprils, but the Gulf of Mexico's. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or Nutrient content and stoichiometry of pelagic Sargassum reflects increasing nitrogen availability in the Atlantic Basin. Sargassum, a naturally occurring type of macroalgae, has grown at an alarming rate this winter. Besides seeing the unsightly sargassum, regular visitors to area beaches are accustomed to dealing with the annual appearance of June grass. 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. "I think I've replaced my climate change anxiety with sargassum anxiety," Patricia Estridge, CEO of Seaweed Generation, told The Guardian. ", Still, the consequences of the Sargassum Belt have concerned scientists for the past decade. The first time that large aggregations of sargassum were detected from space was 2011 and prior to this year, 2018 was the largest bloom. Five thousand miles long, 400 miles wide, and over six million tons, a massive bloom of sargassum seaweed is drifting toward . Smyth, A., Laughinghouse, D., Havens, K., Frazer, T. 2022. Hu said he believes wind and ocean circulation bringing nutrients from the bottom of the ocean to the surface might be fueling its growth at this time of year. 1:21. Lorsque vous utilisez nos sites et applications, nous utilisons des, authentifier les utilisateurs, appliquer des mesures de scurit, empcher les spams et les abus; et. A satellite-based map shows the Sargassum bloom approaching Florida, from March 7-13, 2023. Nature Communications 12: 3060. Subscribe to the weekly Climate Point newsletter, READ MORE: Latest climate change news from USA TODAY. "What we're seeing in the satellite imagery does not bode well for a clean beach year.". By Stephen P. Leatherman, Florida International University. Outlook of 2023 Sargassumblooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico* March 1, 2023, by University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab (bbarnes4@usf.edu, yuyuan@usf.edu, huc@usf.edu) The maps below show Sargassumabundance, with warm colors representing higher values. Sargassum is a species of large brown seaweed, a type of macroalgae that floats in large masses. a 5,000-mile swath of sargassum drifts westward, Subscribe to the weekly Climate Point newsletter, Latest climate change news from USA TODAY, The algal blooms are linked to human activities, the starving deaths of hundreds of manatees, a group of international researchers in a coastal phytoplankton studypublished this month in the journal Nature, Huge seaweed blob on way to Florida is 'like a Stephen King movie'. Sargassum usually appears in Florida beaches in the spring, with a peak in June, The seaweed contains tiny sea creatures, such as jellyfish larvae, that can irritate your skin on contact. Scientists are increasingly concerned about the impacts of the algae. Sargassum Seaweed 2023 Forecast: Where the Stinky Algae Will Appear Sargassum is an amazing brown algae that has fascinated marine scientists for decades. We will keep a close eye on how Sargassum in the CS and the tropical Atlantic may evolve in the next two months. Well continue to monitor for any potential impacts, but its certainly not enough to cause any worry here in Destin-Fort Walton Beach.. Ten endemic species live nowhere else on Earth. Sargassum Seaweed - How will it affect our Suncoast Beaches? Florida sargassum seaweed: Where's it going, when will it arrive? We just dont know, he said. It was originally published on March 15, 2023. Whether you are a resident or visitor, if you enjoy going to the beach, you are likely to experience sargassum landings the summer. Read the original article. More on sargassum: Sargassum, a smelly seaweed, may be coming soon to a Gulf beach near you. 43 other threatened or endangered species, World's largest seaweed bloom spotted from space, drastic increase in agricultural activity, nutrients carried down the Mississippi River, biomass burning in central and southern Africa. ET Source: Teresa Wood/Coral.Org Seaweed clump nearly double the width of U.S. floating at sea. Follow her onTwitteror Instagram at@byjensangalang. So the same thing is now happening on a global scale in the ocean. Whether individual beaches will receive more in a month than other months will depend on the tides and the winds.". While climate change is warming ocean waters, and sargassum grows faster in warmer water, I believe it's more plausible that the cause is a drastic increase in agricultural activity in the Brazilian Amazon. Recycling sargassum into fertilizer for use on crops is problematic because it often contains toxic heavy metals such as arsenic and cadmium. The Gulf Stream moves the sargassum bloom into the Atlantic Basin every year. In the last few years, we have had it pretty good compared to them, he said. This year is approaching these records, and could surpass them, Hu said. Sargassum is amazing when you can collect it, floating on the surface and can grab a bucket full to examine. Featured image from iNaturalist user kruskaya_024 (CC-BY-NC 4.0). FLORIDA KEYS CAUTIOUSLY WATCH VISITOR SENTIMENT FOR IMPACTS OF INCOMING SEAWEED. One study in 2019 suggested that deforestation and fertilizer use may be responsible for the alarming rate at which the mass is growing the effects of which are all exacerbated by climate change. It offers food, hiding spots and breeding grounds for a vast array of crabs, shrimp and other invertebrates and over a hundred species of fish. Christopher Columbus wrote about floating mats of it in the Atlantic Ocean. However, the good news is that the area is currently in the clear. Red indicates full inundation of seaweed on beaches. The term algal bloom can be confusing and mistakenly used interchangeably with other phenomena. Sargassum seaweed washing up in Florida, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico
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