Aggregations of Sargassum exciting new country

In the coastal waters in the Caribbean continue to appear huge clumps of Sargasso algae. They appear to the gaze of every year (except 2013) and create a lot of problems — they are killing marine animals, and also because algae closes beaches. The accumulation of rotting marine brown algae also interfere with navigation — they impede the movement of ships, can hide in the screws, motors, and generators. It is reported that on certain sections their depth is 2-3 m.

The appearance in the water of Sargassum has always been a sign to sailors that their ships are approaching the tropics, however, in recent years the bloom has acquired a record scale. Huge accumulation of Sargassum in the Atlantic called "the Great Atlantic belt Sargasso". The first such bloom was recorded in 2011, and in 2018 its scale is increased 10 times — some resorts in the Caribbean have been forced to close for 3 months. According to some estimates, the total weight of the biomass of Sargassum was 20 million tons.

This year a photo posted Sargassum witnesses from Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The Sargassum is also noted in the Mexican resorts of the Yucatan Peninsula and the state of Texas (USA).

Earlier it was reported that on beaches of the Southeast of Mexico as a result of the storm "Cristobal" was thrown 500 tons of algae. Authorities removed about 150 tons, on the beaches continue to work 150 people with light equipment for harvesting of Sargassum. It was also decided to install several kilometers of protective barriers in order to prevent them from entering.

However, the phenomenon is becoming more and more widespread, affecting not only the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico and America, but Africa and West Africa — algae appeared on the coast of Ghana and Sierra Leone. Experts believe that the reason for the distribution — climate change and water pollution with sewage and nitrogen fertilizers. All this leads to the fact that in the water there are nutrients for algae substances. Also put forward versions about the change of the directions of ocean currents.

Translated by «Yandex.Translator»