In keeping with researchers on the College of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab, the bloom “elevated so considerably that the abundance reached a brand new document from all earlier December months.“
In November, there have been a million metric tons of sargassum within the central Atlantic; by December, that quantity had grown to 5 million tons.
“This means that 2024 will probably be one other main Sargassum 12 months,” the researchers acknowledged.
Over the previous ten years, there was a noticeable improve in each the dimensions and harm attributable to these blooms. Brian Barnes, a analysis professor on the College of South Florida who makes a speciality of sargassum, stated to Nexstar’s WFLA final 12 months that “earlier than 2011, we by no means noticed something like this.”
The excellent news is {that a} comparatively small quantity (120,000 tons) was discovered within the Caribbean Sea and nearly no sargassum was discovered within the Gulf of Mexico. However within the upcoming months, that’s anticipated to alter. Scientists predict that because the seaweed grows extra widespread, currents will carry bits of it westward.
Newest Photographs from Seashores in Mexico (Supply: FB Group Sargassum Seaweed Updates (Cancun, PDC, Tulum)
The mass of sargassum elevated to 13 million tons final 12 months. Naturally, not all of that washed up on seashores, however the chunks precipitated harm alongside Florida’s coast and offered vital difficulties for the journey and tourism sector throughout spring break and the summer time.
The Florida Division of Well being advises beachgoers to not contact or swim close to sargassum in the event that they see it washing up on the shore. Its tiny inhabitants, corresponding to jellyfish larvae, have the potential to sting or itch your pores and skin.
To stop respiratory issues and unsightly odors, the division additionally suggested shutting home windows in the event you dwell near the seaside and carrying gloves in the event you should deal with sargassum.
