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Record-breaking seaweed bloom stretches from West Africa to Mexico
(CNN)A record-breaking mass of stinky seaweed extending from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico has actually been determined utilizing satellite images.
Researchers at the University of Southern Florida utilized satellite images to identify that the huge drifting mass of seaweed is a massive 8,850 kilometers (5,000 miles) long. It weighs an approximated 20 million metric lots, or the equivalent of 1.6 million double-decker buses.
Scientists initially discovered that seaweed was spreading out quickly throughout the Atlantic and growing in mass in 2011.
Sargassum likewise launches a sulfur gas that smells like rotten eggs as it rots, which has actually triggered issues as it cleans up on tourist-filled coasts in Mexico and the Caribbean.
The decomposing seaweed can bring in bugs and the gas emitted impacts asthma patients, triggering what Wang stated was a “public health issue.”
According to Expansion , a Mexican service publication, hotels in Quintana Roo saw a reduction in visitors in June due in part to the loads of undesirable, foul-smelling seaweed cleaning up on the beaches. The city government even stated a state of emergency situation over the Sargassum scenario, regional media reported.
The seaweed surge is likewise a sign of larger issues, Wang stated. Scientists think ocean chemistry should have altered “in order for the blossom to take place so rapidly,” she stated, most likely brought on by nutrients leaking into the water from extensive logging and fertilizer usage.
While the impacts of logging are extensive and contribute to our continuous environment crisis, Wang stated that the Sargassum flower is mostly an issue for beachgoers and does not appear to be developing any serious issues in the ocean itself simply.
“If we might efficiently obstruct the Sargassum from landing on the beaches, that might be a great way to go,”she informed CNN.
Wang included that federal governments in impacted areas might discover methods “to make it helpful,” mentioning seaweed’s possible usage as biofuel or fertilizer. More research study into the Sargassum might likewise discover other usages.
“We still have a great deal of work to do to comprehend the phenomenon,” Wang stated.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/05/health/sargasso-seaweed-intl-hnk/index.html