https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2019/world/amp-stories/seaweed-invasion/

While the focus this summer has been on shark attacks, it turns out beachgoers may have a whole other problem on their hands.

Researchers at the University of South Florida say a type of seaweed called sargassum has been spreading far and wide since 2011. They’ve dubbed it the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt in their findings, which appear in the journal Science. It’s begun covering beaches in Florida, while nearly 20 tons of it stretch from West Africa to the Caribbean.

The sargassum boom is the result of two developments, including runoff from the Amazon River and changes in ocean composition.

The seaweed doesn’t pose a threat in open water, but it can create problems for marine life and coral reefs, as well as lure insects onto beaches.

There’s also the fact that the sargassum, which can turn water brown, has a foul odor, putting a dent in the beachgoing experience.

It’s already become an issue in Mexico where people have to sift through piles of the seaweed before even getting into the water. The state where Cancun is located has responded to the matter by declaring a state of emergency, with officials in the country worried the problem may have a negative impact on tourism.

“This is one of the biggest challenges that climate change has caused for the world,” the government of Mexico’s coastal state of Quintana Roo told the Associated Press. “This challenge requires a joint, multinational effort and a global commitment.”

The sargassum could continue to spread up the East Coast, and one member of the research team said things aren’t bound to change anytime soon.

“Based on the last 20 years of data, I can say that the belt is likely to be a new normal,” researcher Chuanmin Hu told the Tampa Bay Times.

When I read the title, I thought the reference was to the FOOD kind of seaweed!

Nori, and kombu, and hiziki, and seaweed in shakers (often with sesame seeds added) to season food, and savory rice crackers wrapped in seaweed for snacking....

I am startled and sorry about the out-of-control seaweed growths. As someone who lives in a coastal state, I can't even imagine how awful an out-of-control seaweed infestation along the coastline beaches would be.

It is sobering to realize that the actual real world, the one which has existed throughout human history, the one we all have known first hand, is "going away"--and something like an alien lifeform, or new to us weather phenomena, is in the process of taking over.

I seriously don't know how the next few generations are going to cope, because--in many ways--the future IS going to be far different for our descendants than what we humans have "always" known reality to be.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2019 10:37AM by Tevai.

Coming up with tasty sargassum dishes would be a good RS project.

babyloncansuckit Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Coming up with tasty sargassum dishes would be a
> good RS project.

:D

It's not edible. Contains too much arsenic.

Kind of like church doctrine then. Just ask Briggy.

We walked over MOUNTAINS of this in Cancun to reach the water!

Thought it was normal! But nope.

I'm still trying to get my mind around the stated fact that 20 tons of the stuff stretched from West Africa to the Caribbean.

20 tons covering 2,000 miles, that's a whooping 20 pounds per mile!

tumwater Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I'm still trying to get my mind around the stated
> fact that 20 tons of the stuff stretched from West
> Africa to the Caribbean.
>
> 20 tons covering 2,000 miles, that's a whooping 20
> pounds per mile!

It tends to grow in clumps. Arabic, Portuguese and Arabic sailors encountered it long before regular trade with the Americas began. It collects in gyres, areas of the sea without much wind or currents... a nightmare for sailing vessels to get out of. Sargassum means stinky, I think and lots of driftwood and flotsam etc would collect in amongst it. The Sargasso Sea had a reputation for being evil.

That explains why it wasn’t a problem for the Jaredite barges. Mighty winds will clear out a lot of vegetation.

I guess I'm not going to the Sargasso Sea.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U79al1GPvmg



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/18/2019 03:05PM by Dave the Atheist.

I was just down at the US Postal (dis)Service, and they have a block of Transcontinental Railroad commemorative "forever" stamps that feature the Jupiter and the 119. Very elegant--hope those two engines aren't too touristy for you!

If USPS is such a dis-service to you then stop using it.

...the Mexicans are already trying to find ways to monetize sargassum....give em'time. They'll figure it out. Maybe they can re-cast it into Elvis-head piggy banks..........

Remember when Cheech and Chong had that truck made out of marijuana ...