USA – Sargassum Monitoring

« Unveiling the Menacing Alliance: Sargassum, Vibrio Bacteria, and Plastic Form the Perfect Pathogen Storm in Our Oceans »

The interplay between Sargassum spp., plastic marine debris, and Vibrio bacteria has been uncovered in a new study, revealing a concerning « pathogen » storm that affects marine life and public health. Vibrio bacteria, known to be the leading cause of death in humans from the marine environment, including flesh-eating bacteria, pose a significant threat. Since 2011, Sargassum, a type of brown macroalgae, has been rapidly expanding in the Sargasso Sea and other open ocean areas, leading to unprecedented accumulation events on beaches. Plastic marine debris, which persists longer than natural substrates, has become a global concern.

Little is known about the ecological relationship between vibrios and Sargassum, and there has been a lack of genomic evidence regarding the potential infection of humans by vibrios colonizing plastic marine debris and Sargassum. As efforts to repurpose Sargassum continue, concerns arise about the triple threat to public health posed by these substrates.

Researchers from Florida Atlantic University and collaborators conducted a study in which they sequenced the genomes of 16 Vibrio strains isolated from various sources, including eel larvae, plastic marine debris, Sargassum, and seawater samples from the Caribbean and Sargasso seas. They discovered that Vibrio pathogens have the ability to adhere to microplastics, suggesting an adaptation to plastic. The researchers also found that the attachment mechanism used by microbes to stick to plastics is similar to that used by pathogens.

The study, published in Water Research, revealed that open ocean vibrios represent a previously undescribed group of microbes, some of which may be new species. These microbes possess a combination of pathogenic and low nutrient acquisition genes, reflecting their habitat and the substrates and hosts they colonize. The study also assembled the first Vibrio spp. genome from plastic debris using metagenome-assembled genome (MAG) techniques.

The researchers identified vertebrate pathogen genes related to cholera and non-cholera bacterial strains. Phenotype testing confirmed the potential pathogenicity of these strains through rapid biofilm formation, hemolytic and lipophospholytic activities. The study also revealed the presence of zonula occludens toxin or « zot » genes, which increase intestinal permeability and are associated with Vibrio cholerae. These genes indicate that these vibrios may enter the gut, causing infections and leading to leaky gut syndrome and diarrhea. The waste nutrients released as a result of the infection could stimulate the growth of Sargassum and other organisms in the surrounding environment.

The findings suggest that some Vibrio spp. in this environment have an « omnivorous » lifestyle, targeting both plant and animal hosts, while being able to survive in low-nutrient conditions. With increasing interactions between humans, Sargassum, and plastic marine debris, the microbial flora associated with these substrates could harbor potent opportunistic pathogens. Notably, cultivation-based data indicate that beached Sargassum may contain high amounts of Vibrio bacteria.

The study’s lead author, Tracy Mincer, emphasizes the need to raise awareness about the risks associated with these microbes and their potential to cause infections. The public should exercise caution regarding the harvest and processing of Sargassum biomass until further exploration of the risks has been conducted.

Read the study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135423004694?via%3Dihub

A new voice to speak out loud about Sargassum Seaweed

A new voice to speak out loud about Sargassum Seaweed!

The mundial phenomena of Sargassum Seaweed invasion is drawing more and more attention from the population. A new voice to talk about the matter to the world is the one of Brian Shields in his very interesting podcast named Earth QC, about occuring natural events such as Earthquakes, Tsunamis, Volcanoes, Wildfires, and Meteors.

We definitely liked the idea of Brian Shields – also known as Mr Weatherman on wftv9 – to help the people follow the journey of the algae and show evidences of the damages all along the coast of the Caribbean. He does the job perfectly and we can definitely tell about his great experience by the passion he puts in his podcast.

Brian Shields also known as Mr Weatherman – on EarthQC

This entire podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAiUesC2zmc

We have been meeting each other and decided to start a new collaboration in order to help you all be updated about the reach of sargassum arrivals. This matter will be one of the biggest challenges to face, regarding the results of the world pollution. We think, as Brian Shields do, that it is necessary to keep you posted.

The total mass of the sargassum seaweed is said to rise at a rate of at least 10% per year. In the sea, this species of seaweed would already represents at his highest spike of the year more than 20 millions of tons. We are speaking of a growth of more than 2 millions tons per year, and this amounts are definitely coming to our shores!

You can visit his channel right here EarthQC

We would like to thank Brian Shields for its involvement in the sargassum seaweed situation and we wish him the best of luck and success on his new journey as an independent meteorologist.

Les algues marines sont 10 fois plus polluées que l’eau

Les microplastiques polluent les océans mais aussi les algues et les végétaux marins, avec un taux de concentration bien supérieure.

La pollution marine touche aussi les algues
Elles “capturent” les microplastiques en grande quantité
Cette pollution provoque un effet boule de neige dangereux

Une nouvelle étude vient dresser un bilan pessimiste du niveau de pollution en mer. Des chercheurs de l’Institut Alfred Wegener ont mené leur recherche en se concentrant sur l’algue Melosira arctica. Cette dernière a la particularité de pousser sous la glace arctique.

Protégée (à première vue) de la pollution humaine, elle est la seule source de nourriture pour une grande faune présente dans les régions arctiques. Maillon central de l’écosystème marin arctique, cette algue est au commencement de la chaîne alimentaire.

Mais en étudiant ces algues de plus près, les scientifiques ont fait une découverte inquiétante. Ils viennent de publier leurs conclusions ici. Selon cette étude, la concentration en microplastique est bien plus importante au cœur des algues que dans l’eau de mer environnante.

Les algues polluées sont un danger pour leur environnement
Pire encore, les chercheurs expliquent que cette source de pollution ne disparaît pas avec l’algue. Une fois que le végétal meurt, il tombe dans les profondeurs de l’océan, emportant avec lui des microplastiques par milliers. Les scientifiques pensent que la présence des microplastiques dans la glace arctique pourrait expliquer cette pollution supérieure aux données attendues.

Ces algues marines utilisent l’eau de la glace pour se nourrir, elles qui dispose de certains sédiments uniques, introuvables dans l’eau de mer. Mais cette spécificité, qui fait de l’eau de glace « pure » une source de nourriture permet aussi aux microplastiques de se répandre comme une traînée de poudre dans l’océan.

Une si forte concentration de microplastiques est inquiétante. Les scientifiques expliquent que si l’environnement proche des algues est déjà perturbé par cette pollution inédite, elle pourrait avoir des conséquences loin de la banquise. En effet les algues sont, comme dit plus haut, une source de nourriture dans les régions arctiques.

Une pollution aux conséquences multiples
Cette pollution pourrait aussi représenter un risque pour la santé humaine. Tous les poissons péchés dans les régions arctiques sont susceptibles d’avoir été contaminés par des microplastiques. Les scientifiques expliquent également que la présence de microplastiques dans le « corps » des algues rend la photosynthèse plus complexe.

La capture du carbone est altérée par cette pollution et elle contribue donc, d’une certaine manière, au réchauffement climatique. Pour rappel, la pollution plastique représente 2,3 millions de tonnes de déchets en mer. La majorité de cette pollution finit par se désagréger en mer et transforme le plastique en « micro-plastique » des particules de seulement 20 et 30 μm. Pour se donner un ordre d’idée, un cheveu humain a une épaisseur d’environ 70 μm.

Source: https://www.presse-citron.net/ du 25 avril 2023

Sargassum Monitoring se pose ces questions :

On sait que les sargasses absorbent tout sur leur passage (métaux lourds, arsenic, cadnium etc), contiennent-elles aussi des microplastiques ?
On parle de les broyer et les couler en mer, peut-on nous garantir qu’il n’y aura aucune conséquence néfaste sur les fonds marins et sa faune encore très peu connue?

Notre conclusion:

On sait que lors de leur déplacement, les sargasses charrient toujours de nombreux déchets flottants a la surface de la mer. C’est un peu comme un balai. Récolter les algues, les broyer et les couler sans faire le tri des déchets entrainerait logiquement la pollution plastique dans les fonds marins!

On sait une chose : « Mettre la poussière sous le tapis » ne résout pas le problème, c’est juste le cacher pour ne plus le voir!

Untold Mass of Sea Trash Lurks in Seaweed Piling Up in Florida

Over the last year, Stetson University student Charlotte Kraft has been looking into how much plastic is ending up in the sargassum washing ashore Florida beaches. Photo by Wendy Anderson

Sargassum seaweed is bringing more than just a putrid smell to South Florida beaches.

In a new study, Stetson University student Charlotte Kraft and environmental science professor Wendy Anderson have discovered that a strikingly high proportion of the stinky brown seaweed piles arriving on shore consists of seaborne plastic pollutants.

« We have a lot of single-use plastics and microplastics that are out in the ocean, » Kraft tells New Times. « They get broken down into smaller pieces, such as plastic nurdles, balloons, ribbons, microfibers, and fishing line ropes. I have a whole slew of different things I found in there. »

Floridians should be familiar with the seaweed, algae under the genus sargassum, as it has been forming in an expansive belt in the Atlantic Ocean and landing on beaches for ages. But over the last decade, the belt has been getting larger and forming earlier in the year, bringing heavy deposits of seaweed to South Florida shorelines months in advance of the typical summer arrival.

Though research is ongoing to pinpoint the cause of the ballooning seaweed formation, Kraft and other scientists suggest that it’s linked to nutrient-polluted outflows from South America.

« It gets fed from the nitrates that come from the Amazon River Basin, which is why it’s been growing bigger along with climate change recently, » Kraft hypothesizes. « It’s why it’s been washing up on our beaches way more often. »

As blobs of this year’s 5,000-mile stretch of sargassum have begun stinking up beaches in Florida over the last few weeks, Kraft has collected samples of the seaweed to see how much single-use plastic ends up entangled in it.

« Maybe we could be benefiting from all of the sargassum washing ashore in better ways if we didn’t have so much plastic in the ocean, » Anderson says. « Ultimately to us, it takes it back to: how do we stop the use of single-use plastic? »

Kraft says that 17 percent of the dry mass of a recent seaweed sample collected off a Palm Beach County beach was made up of plastic. She previously determined that plastic made up 3.4 percent of the mass of a sample from Volusia County. As part of her research, she has been tallying the types of plastics she is seeing, from fishing line to bottle caps.

The sargassum collected off of a beach in Palm Beach County. Photo by Charlotte Kraft

Local governments have typically disposed of the stinky seaweed by collecting it from the shoreline and dumping it into landfills. The Miami Herald recently reported Miami-Dade County is looking to spend $6 million this year on seaweed cleanup.

While proposals have been mounting to convert the sargassum into fertilizer and compost to make better use of it, the plastic pollution may interfere with those efforts unless the contaminants can be easily and quickly removed, Anderson says.

« We have to sit here and spend hours picking out those macroplastics and microplastics, » Anderson tells New Times. « We’re not talking about big chunky things like whole plastic water bottles. Even just to get out the small particles, the microplastics, and the things that are like fibers of fishing rope, it’s hard. »

Anderson and Kraft describe an arduous process of trying to untangle the plastics from the seaweed. At times, the pair haven’t been able to remove some of the pieces that are so intertwined into the algae.

« The really teeny tiny bits can even get incorporated into the tissues of the sargassum, » Anderson says. « It kind of becomes one with the tissue. »

Some of the microplastics found in the sargassum sample from Palm Beach County. Photo by Charlotte Kraft

The researchers say that limiting the preponderance of single-use plastics is crucial so that they do not end up in the ocean endangering marine life and contaminating a beneficial resource like sargassum that serves as an important ocean habitat for newborn sea turtles and other marine life.

« The sargassum becomes like a big sweeper and that becomes a huge problem for the marine life and the creatures that eat this stuff on shore, » Anderson tells New Times. « The little willets, plovers, sanderlings, and shorebirds that skitter around on the beach — they pick at the various invertebrates that live in [the seaweed]. They’re picking those out as food, but they could also be grabbing chunks of plastic and getting that up in their digestive systems. »

The researchers stress the ecological impact of plastic pollutants and the need to tamp down our waste stream by using more sustainable products. In the meanwhile, they say, the seaweed is playing a role in clearing out the unending stream of human refuse that makes its way out to sea.

« Granted, we don’t want it on our beaches or in our ocean, but it is almost like nature’s way of helping us clean the ocean. » Kraft tells New Times.

Source: Miami New Time April 12th 2023

Florida, USA: Seaweed mass expands, reaches record tonnage. Messy Florida beaches ‘inevitable’

Beached sargassum surrounds a pair of sunbathers in Boca Raton on March 31, 2023. ROBYN WISHNA

We already knew South Florida beaches were bracing for a surge of seaweed, but the mass of seaweed looming in the Atlantic Ocean is now officially record-breaking. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt — the official name for the collection of floating brown seaweed that sprawls across 5,000 miles from the Gulf of Mexico to the west coast of Africa — contained about 13 million tons of seaweed by the end of March, according to researchers at the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab who have been monitoring the sargassum belt via satellite.

This map from the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Laboratory shows the sargassum bloom as of March 2023. Red areas have a higher density of seaweed. Courtesy of the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Laboratory

That’s a new record for this time of year. Though it remains strung out over thousands of square miles of open ocean, it’s an omen of smelly, slimy beach days to come. In some places, including Boca Raton and Fort Lauderdale, large masses have already washed ashore or been spotted by boaters just offshore. “Major beaching events are inevitable around the Caribbean, along the ocean side of Florida Keys and east coast of Florida, although the exact timings and locations are difficult to predict,” the USF researchers wrote in their latest monthly sargassum bulletin.

A mat of sargassum bobs in the water off the coast of Fort Lauderdale just north of the Port Everglades inlet on April 2, 2023. Robyn Wishna

We only have ourselves to blame. Human activity and climate variability have caused sargassum blooms to get bigger since about 2011, according to Chuanmin Hu, a USF oceanography professor who is part of the sargassum observation team. Fertilizer runoff and sewage dumped into the ocean have fed sargassum more nutrients, while climate change has warmed ocean waters and given the seaweed a more hospitable environment in which to grow.

Beachgoers step around a mat of sargassum that washed ashore at Fort Lauderdale Beach near Sunrise Boulevard on March 31, 2023. Robyn Wishna

So far this year, South Florida beaches have only been hit sporadically with seaweed pileups. But it’s still early: The local seaweed season typically runs from May to October, with the peak coming in June and July, according to Tom Morgan, chief of operations at Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces. Miami-Dade County’s spending on seaweed cleanup has risen from $2.8 million during the 2020 sargassum season to $3.9 million during last year’s season. Now the county is asking the state Legislature for an extra $2 million to fund sargassum removal, which would bring this year’s total spending on seaweed cleanup to about $6 million. “I was just up there [in Tallahassee] a couple of days ago talking about this,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava, “because we’re spending in the range of $4 million per year and we are anticipating the need to spend more with the additional arrival” of seaweed on the beaches this year.

Heavy equipment starts cleaning seaweed from the seashore after a press conference by Miami-Dade County and City of Miami Beach elected officials announcing the county’s removal operation for sargassum/seaweed on Miami Beach on Friday, Aug. 2, 2019. Pedro Portal pportal@miamiherald.com

Most of Miami-Dade County’s seaweed budget goes toward removing the sargassum that piles up in four hot spots: beaches in Haulover just north of Haulover Cut; beaches in Bal Harbour just south of Haulover Cut; Miami Beach between 26th Street and 31st Street; and the beaches alongside South Pointe jetty. Last year, the county cleared 18,000 cubic yards of sargassum from these four areas. Most of it wound up in the county’s rapidly filling landfills. “Obviously, that’s not a great solution because the landfills have limited space,” Levine Cava said. The county is looking into the idea of composting the seaweed rather than dumping it, but has concerns about sargassum’s reportedly high concentrations of arsenic and other heavy metals, according to Lisa Spadafina, who runs the county’s Department of Environmental Resource Management. “Those are the things that we’re looking to address so that we’re not creating another problem by composting,” Spadafina said.

Sargassum washes ashore at Fort Lauderdale Beach near Sunrise Boulevard on March 31, 2023. Robyn Wishna

To be clear, sargassum itself is harmless to humans. It does harbor jellyfish, sea lice, and other stinging creatures that can irritate the skin — and the hydrogen sulfide it releases when it rots in the sun can aggravate breathing problems for people with pre-existing respiratory conditions, in addition to smelling like rotten eggs and making the beaches generally unpleasant for swimmers and sunbathers. But it’s also an important habitat and food source for many sea creatures and poses no threat to human health when beach maintenance crews promptly remove it or use machines to cut it up and mix it into the sand. During the peak of the sargassum season, Miami-Dade County crews do this each morning just after sunrise, after they’ve made sure there are no sea turtle nests nearby that might be disturbed by the heavy machinery. The 13 million tons of seaweed currently bobbing in the Atlantic Ocean won’t all come ashore on Florida beaches, and the fraction that does land here won’t come all at once — not even in hot spots. “Even Miami Beach won’t receive sargassum every week or every month,” said Hu. “That will depend on the tides and the wind.” In their latest sargassum bulletin, Hu and his colleagues also stressed that the sargassum belt isn’t one giant blob of uninterrupted seaweed, but rather a collection of “clumps and mats scattered randomly within the 5,000-mile Sargassum belt.” Within the belt, seaweed covers less than 0.1% of the ocean surface, on average. Because it’s so scattered, it can be hard to pinpoint how big the sargassum bloom is; for instance, the researchers said that their February estimate was low because of “persistent cloud cover in the eastern Atlantic” that blocked their satellites’ view of the sea.

Source: miamiherald.com 04/04/2023

Porto Rico : PESCADORES ENFRENTAN EL SARGAZO Y EL MAL TIEMPO EN SEMANA SANTA

La acumulación de grandes cantidades de sargazo en las costas del este y sureste de Puerto Rico son un problema para los pescadores durante la época de mayor demanda de pescado. Los obreros del mar explican que no han podido pescar las cantidades que les requieren los clientes para este período y denuncian también la falta de atención del Gobierno.

Acumulación de sargazo en Las Croabas, en Fajardo, el pasado 19 de junio de 2021. (Alex Figueroa Cancel)

En la Pescadería Vellón del barrio Buena Vista en Humacao, su propietario, Wilson Vellón, recibe una llamada telefónica de un cliente que le pregunta por el pescao disponible. El pescador responde que el inventario está limitado y que en cualquier momento del día siguiente la pesca podría acabarse sin la garantía de que traigan más.

Son cerca de las 10:00 de la mañana del martes de Semana Santa y en los congeladores de la Pescadería Vellón solo quedan algunas libras de colirubias, pargos, cotorros y boquicolorás. Como parte de la cultura religiosa y popular, esta es la semana de mayor demanda de pescado y marisco en Puerto Rico. Sin embargo, Vellón teme no cumplir este año con la gran demanda de los frutos del mar. El sargazo es la razón.

“El problema es que el sargazo se va al fondo del mar. Tú tiras la línea con anzuelos y con carnadas. Ese carnada llega al piso, pero el sargazo la tapa y el pez no la ve para comer”, explicó Vellón al Centro de Periodismo Investigativo (CPI).

Foto por Rafael Díaz Torres | Centro de Periodismo Investigativo

Don Wilson Vellón en su pescadería, al lado de Palmas del Mar en Humacao.
“Cuando el sargazo es mucho, la hélice [de la embarcación de pesca] sigue dando vueltas y acumula sargazo. Llega un momento en que la hélice se detiene. Si no se apaga el motor se puede esvielar porque la hélice está haciendo fuerza, pero no está moviéndose”, agregó el hombre de 75 años.

Toneladas de sargazo alcanzan récord histórico en 2023 en el Caribe y el Golfo de México
En los primeros tres meses de 2023, las toneladas de sargazo acumuladas sobrepasan por 6.8 millones de toneladas la cantidad del alga en la costa al compararse con el año pasado.

En lo que va de año, los meses de enero y marzo han roto récords en términos de la acumulación del sargazo en toneladas para las costas del Caribe y el Golfo de México, de acuerdo al informe mensual preparado por el Laboratorio de Oceanografía Óptica de la Universidad del Sur de la Florida. Mientras en enero se acumularon 8.7 toneladas de sargazo, en marzo la cifra fue de 13 millones.

“A pesar de que todavía falta para los meses pico de junio o julio, ya de por sí hay una señal de que el florecimiento del sargazo en los próximos meses podría ser el más grande que se documente, lo cual traerá impactos significativos”, dicen los expertos de la Universidad del Sur de la Florida en el informe mensual sobre las cantidades de sargazo en el Caribe y el Golfo de México.

El problema que representa la acumulación del sargazo en descomposición para la pesca fue también reconocido por el presidente de la Federación de Pescadores de Puerto Rico, Miguel Ortiz. Aunque el problema no es nuevo, se ha exacerbado en los últimos años y el líder de los pescadores lamenta que la falta de un plan para manejar el sargazo en Puerto Rico esté afectando la disponibilidad del producto durante la Semana Santa, que es cuando muchos pescadores realizan sus mejores ventas del año. Asimismo, las advertencias de mareas altas de algunas playas en los días de Semana Santa representan otro elemento de peligro al que se exponen los pescadores para lograr hacer su agosto.

“Se agrava más la situación cuando hay una demanda grande de pescado del país. Ahora mismo tenemos dos problemas: el problema de sargazo y el problema de la ventolera que está habiendo entre 25 a 35 millas de viento. Se nos hace bien difícil salir a pescar con estas condiciones del tiempo”, expresó Ortiz al CPI.

“Puedes hacer un anuncio de que tienes pescado para Semana Santa, pero la demanda es tan grande, que una semana antes de Semana Santa, le dan duro al pescado, se te vacía [el congelador] y después para ir a pescar, ahí es donde viene el problema de que te encuentras con sargazo, y te encuentras con la ventolera”, añadió el presidente de la Federación.

A principios de año, el gobernador, Pedro Pierluisi, firmó una ley que le ordena al Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales la elaboración de una plan de mitigación para manejar el sargazo en Puerto Rico. Sin embargo, el mes pasado la agencia todavía estaba recolectando datos e identificando presupuesto para trabajar el plan, según reseñó el CPI. De acuerdo a la ley, el plan de mitigación debía estar listo el 3 de abril, pero la agencia aún no ha presentado o divulgado los resultados de la gestión ordenada por el Gobierno.

“Con eso del sargazo no hemos recibido ningún tipo de apoyo, ni de la NOAA [Oficina Nacional de Administración Oceánica y Atmosférica], ni del [Departamento de] Agricultura, ni del [Departamento de] Recursos Naturales. Más bien están buscando para inventar y negociar con el sargazo, pero no para ayudar a los pescadores”, denunció Ortiz.

Vellón, por su parte, mostró preocupación por el hecho de que hace una semana no recibe pescado fresco de los colegas a quienes les compra el producto que pescan en las costas de los municipios de Humacao, Yabucoa y Naguabo. Esta escasez se la atribuye a las condiciones peligrosas del mar, además de la gran cantidad de sargazo en descomposición que se acumula cercano a las costas.

“Los freezers [congeladores] se me están vaciando. Hago una escamada hoy y mañana otra, y se acabó el pescado. Este es el mes en el que se hace el dinero del año, por Semana Santa. Imagínate que seas pescador y no puedas pescar en semana y media”, lamentó Vellón.

Fuente / Source: periodismoinvestigativo.com

Tides of trouble: what asthmatics & everyone should know about the risks from sargassum (seaweed) along the coastline

You’ve probably already read the ominous media reports of the coming wave of the largest Atlantic sargassum belt ever, stretching more the 5,000 miles and circling the Gulf of Mexico and mid-Atlantic. The largest masses of this class of leafy, rootless and buoyant algae, or seaweed, is expected to wash ashore along Florida’s beaches and elsewhere along the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean by mid-summer.

But what about health hazards to people, particularly those with asthma or other respiratory conditions? Not only can such masses of sargassum wreak havoc on nature’s ecosystems, it releases irritants like hydrogen sulfide in the air when it begins to rot about 48 hours after washing onto beaches and coastal communities.

Jose Vazquez, M.D., chief of primary care at Baptist Health Medical Group, has seen patients on occasion with minor flare-ups from contact with sargassum or even red tide, the harmful algal blooms (HABs) that occur anywhere along the nation’s coast, turning parts the water a deep red. Some HABs produce toxins that have harmful effects on people, fish, marine mammals, and birds

“Anybody that has a history of asthma, a history of any chronic respiratory issues, or history of chronic allergies, could be susceptible to large amounts of sargassum because it emits irritants in the form of a foul-smelling gas, called hydrogen sulfide,” explains Dr. Vazquez. “And it could irritate the respiratory tract and irritate your eyes and nasal passages. People that are prone to having those symptoms could be more susceptible.”

Sargassum is a class of large brown seaweed (a type of algae) that floats in island-like masses and never attaches to the seafloor. Large blooms of sargassum are not new to the Caribbean islands, the U.S. coast along the Gulf of Mexico and around Florida’s coastline. Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula has also seen its share of waves of sargassum in recent years.

Dr. Vazquez urges people who may run across masses of sargassum along the beach to be extremely cautious, and not to allow children to play or touch the piles of seaweed.

“Anybody could be affected if you are exposed to high concentrations, or for a very long period of time,” he said. “Even if you don’t have asthma or if you don’t have chronic allergies, you could also be affected. And you could have some of the same symptoms: coughing, watery eyes, runny nose, maybe even shortness of breath.”

In 2011, the Atlantic Oceanographic & Meteorological Laboratory, part of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), noticed that the geographic range of the sargassum belt expanded, and massive amounts began washing ashore along islands throughout the Caribbean Sea. “Although Sargassum provides habitat, food, protection, and breeding grounds for hundreds of diverse marine species, the sudden occurrence of an unprecedented amount of this floating algae can disrupt shipping, tourism, fishing, and coastal ecosystems,” states AOML, which is headquartered in Key Biscayne, Florida.

“We know every year we get a little bit here and there,” explains Dr. Vazquez. “For whatever reason, we’re getting a lot more this year. And, we know that it could have some effects depending on how much accumulates. The sargassum does have some organisms that live in it — little jellyfish, little microscopic organisms, and those could be irritating to the skin if people come in contact with them.”

In more severe cases, especially among clean-up crews and other workers exposed to sargassum-related, airborne irritants.

“High concentration exposure could also affect the nervous system,” said Dr. Vazquez. “You could have headaches and you could have memory problems – although the majority of these recover well. But, there’s been some cases of people that develop long-term neurological effects from this. We’re talking about very high concentrations in closed areas, mostly people that work in industries that produce a lot of hydrogen sulfide, fertilization, plants and places like that.”

Dr. Vazquez has a general “common sense” message to everyone who comes across piles of sargassum or families that are even tempted to play in the masses of seaweed.

“For the public, it’s important for them to use their common sense,” Dr. Vazquez emphasizes. “Don’t overexpose yourself to this, don’t eat it, don’t use it for cooking. Make sure your children don’t eat it. If you have developed symptoms, then step away from it. Use your inhalers if you are asthmatic, and if you don’t get better, see your doctor. This is very treatable. This doesn’t lead to cancer, and it shouldn’t lead to long-term effects. But you should try and avoid exposure to it whenever possible.”

Published: April 4, 2023

Source: baptisthealth.net

10/03/2023 NASA-USF & SIMAR-SATsum-Conabio Sargassum Seaweed Bulletin

Panama – San Andres (Colombia) – Providencia y Santa Catalina (Colombia) – Costa Rica

sargassum seaweed, sargasses, sargazo, sargasso, sargassi, sargaçao — Mexico – Texas – Louisiana – Gulf of Mexico

Source: OOL-SaWS-USF ( https://optics.marine.usf.edu/projects/SaWS.html )

Satellite warning of floating sargassum presence in the Caribbean Sea

2023-03-10. Approximate area: 98,863 km² km². Estimated weight 13,594 t

Satellite warning of floating sargassum presence in the Gulf of Mexico

2023-03-10. Approximate area: 2,417 km². Estimated weight 332 t

Source: SIMAR-SATsum-Conabio (https://simar.conabio.gob.mx/alertas/#sargazo-satsum)

A giant seaweed bloom that can be seen from space threatens beaches in Florida and Mexico

Seasonal sargassum blooms have exploded in the tropical Atlantic over the past decade and more. This year’s is already staggeringly large.

A worker removes sargassum seaweed from the shore of Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on May 8, 2019.Victor Ruiz / AP file

A raft of brown-colored seaweed in the Atlantic Ocean is so vast it can be seen from space.

Spanning roughly 5,000 miles — about twice the width of the United States — the thick blanket of sargassum floats between the Gulf of Mexico and the shores of West Africa.

In open water, these giant mats of algae are mostly harmless and even have some benefits, including serving as a habitat for certain fish and crustaceans and absorbing carbon dioxide. But ocean currents are pushing sargassum west, causing hundreds of tons of seaweed to wash up on beaches across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

There, it can choke corals, wreak havoc on coastal ecosystems and diminish water and air quality as it rots.

Scientists say this bloom is one of the largest on record, stoking fears that seaweed invasions of beaches in the coming weeks and months could be particularly severe.

« It’s incredible, » said Brian LaPointe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. « What we’re seeing in the satellite imagery does not bode well for a clean beach year. »

Sargassum’s growth varies from season to season. LaPointe, who has studied it for four decades, said huge piles typically come ashore in South Florida in May, but beaches in Key West are already being inundated with algae. Parts of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, including Cancun, Playa del Carmen and Tulum, are preparing for up to 3 feet of sargassum buildup in the coming days.

Giant mounds of sargassum are more than a nuisance and an eyesore, said Brian Barnes, an assistant research professor at the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science.

« Even if it’s just out in coastal waters, it can block intake valves for things like power plants or desalination plants, marinas can get completely inundated and boats can’t navigate through, » he said. « It can really threaten critical infrastructure. »

Last summer, the U.S. Virgin Islands declared a state of emergency after unusually high quantities of sargassum caused water shortages on St. Croix.

Other impacts to human health are coming into focus. As the seaweed rots, it releases hydrogen sulfide, which can cause respiratory problems for tourists and residents in the vicinity, LaPointe said.

« Following the big 2018 blooms, doctors in Martinique and Guadeloupe reported thousands of people going to clinics with breathing complications from the air that was coming off these rotting piles of sargassum, » he said.

Then there are the economic concerns. Sargassum invasions can stifle tourism, and removing hundreds of tons of algae from beaches is costly.

Cleanup crews remove sargassum seaweed from Playa del Carmen, Mexico, on April 29, 2022.Artur Widak / NurPhoto via Getty Images file

Scientists noticed more than a decade ago that sargassum blooms were beginning to grow at staggering rates. Researchers have since documented the algae’s proliferation in the tropical Atlantic.

« Before 2011, it was there but we couldn’t observe it with satellites because it wasn’t dense enough, » Barnes said. « Since then, it has just exploded and we now see these huge aggregations. »

A 2019 study in the journal Science estimated that more than 20 million metric tons of sargassum blanketed the Atlantic in what has been nicknamed the « Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt. »

Barnes said the mass of seaweed appears to be increasing each year, but 2018 and 2022 had the largest accumulations. This year is approaching those records, he added.

In investigating the factors driving this dramatic growth in sargassum, scientists, including LaPointe, have found that human activities and climate change are seeding rivers that flow into the Atlantic with nitrogen and other nutrients. That then feeds the algae blooms.

« You have the Congo, the Amazon, the Orinoco, the Mississippi — the largest rivers on the planet, which have been affected by things like deforestation, increasing fertilizer use and burning biomass, » LaPointe said. « All of that is increasing the nitrogen concentrations in these rivers and so we’re now seeing these blooms as kind of a manifestation of the changing nutrient cycles on our planet. »

Many of these effects are exacerbated by climate change, he said, which can increase flooding and runoff into major waterways.

Typically, floating rafts of sargassum accumulate in a part of the North Atlantic called the Sargasso Sea. The Gulf Stream shuttles the plants around the Atlantic basin, which allows the seaweed to spread and take hold in different parts of the ocean.

Barnes and his University of South Florida colleagues use NASA satellite data to map the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt and its movements. The bloom’s size in recent years would have been inconceivable decades ago, he said.

« Historically, as far back as we have records, sargassum has been a part of the ecosystem, but the scale now is just so much bigger, » Barnes said. « What we would have thought was a major bloom five years ago is no longer even a blip. »

Source: nbcnews.com