Sargassum, a type of giant seaweed, has been washing up on the shores of Florida earlier than ever before. Sargassum is a brown algae that forms large mats or blobs in the ocean, and its excessive presence can have detrimental effects on marine ecosystems and coastal communities. The seaweed can disrupt tourism, damage coral reefs, and deplete oxygen levels in the water, leading to the death of marine life. I covered the causes behind the increase in sargassum blooms, including climate change and nutrient pollution from agricultural activities in other episodes. In today's episode, I explore the opportunities and challenges of disposing of sargassum in Key West.

 

Link to monitoring Sargassum site: https://cwcgom.aoml.noaa.gov/SIR/

 

Link to article: https://bit.ly/3pfTHO8

 

 

My family and I love to travel down south to the Caribbean for vacation during the winter to get a break from the cold and lie on the beach and explore the inshore of the ocean. But there has been a massive increase in the coverage of sargassum along the coastline and the accumulation is getting to the point where trucks are working around the clock to get rid of the algae. Climate change and increased nutrients for massive rivers are the culprits to the increase in the biomass of sargassum. The problem is not going away anytime soon but something needs to be done to reduce the problem.

 

Link to article: http://bit.ly/3Tqdl5d