A team of scientists from the
University of South Florida, Florida Atlantic University, and Georgia
Institute of Technology have discovered what they call the largest
bloom of seaweed in the world.
Using satellite technology, researchers
are able to see the seaweed bloom reaching across the Atlantic Ocean
from the west coast of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico.
The team reported their findings July
4th issue of the journal Science.
Researchers said the seaweed belt forms
seasonally in response to two key nutrient inputs.
In the spring and summer, the Amazon
River discharges nutrients to the ocean and those discharges have
increased due to expanded deforestation and fertilizer use.
In the winter, a natural upwelling off
the West African coast delivers nutrients from deep waters to the
ocean surface where the Sargassum grows.
The seaweed is beneficial to marine
life in smaller amounts, but too much makes it hard for certain
marine species to move and breathe, and when the sargassum dies and
sinks to the ocean bottom at large quantities, it can smother corals
and seagrasses.
And of course when it washes onto
beaches it releases hydrogen sulfide gas and smells like rotten eggs
– making a trip to the beach a little less pleasant than it should
be.
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