Sargassum seaweed washes up on South Florida beaches, raising ecological concerns
, Fla. —
Sargassum, a floating seaweed that thrives in the open ocean, has recently washed up on South Florida beaches, creating unpleasant conditions and environmental challenges.
“May, June, July is really when sargassum grows the most, so that’s the peak of the season, but the timing of the landing of the sargassum depends on many factors because the sargassum that comes to South Florida is from the Gulf, and it’s transported by surface currents,” an expert said.
When sargassum washes ashore, it begins to rot, souring beach conditions.
“We know that sargassum carries heavy metals, and in large quantities, when it decays, it can be an issue, and when it decays, the gas it emits is also toxic,” the expert said.
The seaweed also poses a threat to marine life. When it piles up, it blocks sunlight vital to coral reefs and seagrasses.
“It cuts the light coming through. It also accumulates and starts decaying, and when doing that, there is a very large consumption of oxygen, and the water becomes deprived of oxygen, and that affects the whole ecosystem,” the expert said.
However, in the open ocean, sargassum plays a vital role in marine ecosystems.
“It’s a very thriving ecosystem that has a lot of fish species, larvae, baby sea turtles. So it’s a good thing in the open ocean. It’s really a problem when it accumulates along the shore,” the expert said.
Originally found in the Sargasso Sea in the northwest Atlantic, the range of sargassum expanded in 2011, leading to its presence on South Florida shores.
“So originally, sargassum was found in the Sargasso Sea, which is in the northwest Atlantic, but then we observed a shift in where sargassum is found,” the expert said.
“We suspect that the wind patterns displaced some of the sargassum in the tropical Atlantic between West Africa and the Caribbean Sea and into the Caribbean Sea. Then sargassum found very great conditions to grow and thrive,” the expert added.
Because of these changes, South Florida is now in the path of sargassum.
“Sargassum is here to stay,” the expert said.
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