A giant mass of poisonous algae is moving to Florida: it could pollute the beaches this summer

In the coming months, the blob — a tangled, floating mass of algae called sargassum — is expected to wash ashore in Florida and elsewhere along the Gulf of Mexico. NewYorkTimes.

Photo: IStock

This algae never reaches the ocean floor because it has berry-like vesicles called pneumatocysts. They are filled with oxygen and make the mass buoyant, reports CBS.

For most of the year, the huge brown mass floats relatively harmlessly across the Atlantic Ocean. Its antennae provide shelter and breeding grounds for fish, crabs and sea turtles. Spanning thousands of kilometers, the mass of algae is so large that it can be seen from space.

But scientists say the algae clump will no longer be harmless - the clump will begin to rot, releasing toxic fumes and polluting the region's beaches during the busiest summer months.

Seaweed, which can also cause pollution and threaten human health as it decomposes, has already begun making its way to the shores of Key West, Florida. Mexico last month saw "excessive" amounts of seaweed clogging beaches south of Cancun. Photographs and videos from the region show beachgoers wading through the brown mud along the normally gleaming beaches.

"You can't go into the water," Leonard Shea, a traveler, said in a recent YouTube video from the resort town of Playa del Carmen. The video shows the waves splashing under a thick layer of seaweed. "It's not a very pleasant experience," he says.

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Sargassum is a type of macroalgae found naturally in the Sargassum Sea. They have long been seen sailing across the North Atlantic. But in 2011, scientists began observing extraordinary algae swarms stretching from West Africa to the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, according to a 2019 study.

While scientists are still trying to understand exactly why and how the mass known as the great Atlantic Sargasso Belt is expanding, it appears to be happening seasonally - coinciding with the exit of major waterways, including the Congo, Amazon and Mississippi rivers.

Effluent from these springs helps feed the algae with nitrogen and phosphorus, says Brian Lapointe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University who spent much of his career studying Sargassum. He added that fossil fuel emissions and the burning of biomass - such as trees after deforestation - also produce nutrients that can help Sargassum grow.

“This algae is getting bigger and bigger. And this year looks set to be the largest on record,” Dr. Lapointe said. In January, scientists recorded the largest accumulation of these algae for this month in the entire history of observations. “It’s still quite early, but there are already so many of them and they are increasing so quickly,” he added. “It just doesn’t bode well for a clean beach summer in 2023.”

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According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sargassum blooms will continue to ravage Caribbean waters until mid-October.

Although floating Sargassum can benefit marine life by providing shade and shelter, problems begin as soon as it hits the shore. As the sargassum begins to die off, it degrades water quality and pollutes beaches, scientists say. It can also suffocate vital mangrove habitats and suck oxygen out of the water.

Decaying algae also releases hydrogen sulfide, a colorless gas with a rotten egg odor that can cause people breathing problems, especially if you have a respiratory condition like asthma. And while hydrogen sulfide can also irritate your eyes, nose, and throat, it's not expected to cause long-term health effects if you encounter it on a beach because fresh air can dilute the gas.

Although there are rumors that seaweed causes cancer in humans, this is not true. However, the department warns against eating them.

Last summer, the US Virgin Islands declared a state of emergency after an "unusually large amount" of sargassum accumulated on its shores, affecting a desalination plant on St. Croix. And in 2018, after a massive bloom that spread some 9 km in the Atlantic Ocean, doctors in the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique reported thousands of cases of "acute" exposure to hydrogen sulfide, according to a study published the same year.

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In the past, besieged beach towns have resorted to various measures to get rid of the sargassum: in Mexico, the navy was hired to scoop seaweed from the ocean and clean up the country's beaches. Meanwhile, some entrepreneurs have proposed turning seaweed into animal feed, fuel, or building materials.

But Dr. Lapointe, a research professor, warned that anyone experimenting with new uses for seaweed should exercise extreme caution: Sargassum contains arsenic, which, if used as a fertilizer, could potentially enter the food chain.

However, algae pose the most immediate threat to tourism. “It has disastrous consequences,” he said.

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