DANIA BEACH, Fla. – Florida’s scorching summer time is bringing extra than simply sunshine. This week, seashores from Dania to Fort Lauderdale discovered themselves blanketed in thick mounds of smelly, decomposing seaweed — a now-familiar customer generally known as sargassum.
Locals and guests had been greeted by the unmistakable scent of rotten eggs, a results of the seaweed releasing hydrogen sulfide gasoline because it breaks down underneath the sweltering July solar. Whereas not harmful in small quantities, the odor is sufficient to clear sunbathers from common spots like Dania Seaside.
“It’s a part of the brand new regular throughout Florida summers,” stated one native beachgoer. “Each few months, we cross our fingers that it doesn’t pile up an excessive amount of.”
The offender behind this pure mess is a mixture of persistent ocean currents and easterly winds, which push the brown algae towards the coast. Whereas the inflow isn’t as excessive as in different elements of the Atlantic, it nonetheless poses a problem for seashore cleanup crews and tourism-dependent communities.
A Rising Pattern, Not a One-Off
Photograph Stories from FB GroupSargassum Seaweed Florida: Daily Updates and Photo Reports
This marks no less than the third main sargassum wave this 12 months, with related seashore takeovers reported in April and Could. And specialists warn the season will not be over.
In line with the College of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab, the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and tropical Atlantic are nonetheless coping with bigger concentrations of sargassum, though there’s hope. Latest bulletins recommend that whereas deep-ocean blooms could begin to decline in late summer time, extra localized surges may hit coastal areas — particularly in locations just like the Yucatán, the Bahamas, and Florida.
That makes long-term forecasting tough. “Native wind and present circumstances play a significant function,” stated USF researchers. “Even when general concentrations drop, pockets can nonetheless kind and drift ashore unexpectedly.”
Extra Than Only a Nuisance?
Although sargassum could also be smelly and ugly, it’s not fully unhealthy information. The seaweed performs a worthwhile function in marine ecosystems, providing shelter and meals for creatures like small fish, shrimp, and crabs. Environmentalists warning towards hasty removing, particularly within the water, the place it serves as a floating nursery.
That stated, Florida well being officers advise beachgoers to be cautious. Whereas the seaweed itself is usually innocent, tiny marine organisms that conceal inside it will possibly trigger pores and skin irritation or rashes in some individuals.
The Highway Forward
Because the local weather warms and ocean patterns proceed to shift, scientists predict sargassum blooms could turn out to be extra widespread — and probably extra intense. For now, Florida beachgoers are studying to reside with the seaweed, at the same time as they hope for clearer sands forward.
Within the meantime, cleanup crews stay on excessive alert, and tourism boards urge guests to examine native seashore circumstances earlier than heading out.
