Founded by Stefano Vaccara

Subscribe for only $6/Year
  • Login
  • Register

Editor in Chief: Giampaolo Pioli

VNY La Voce di New York

The First Italian English Digital Daily in the US

English Editor: Grace Russo Bullaro

  • English Edition
  • Letters
  • New York
  • U.N.
  • News
  • People
  • Entertainment
  • Arts
  • Lifestyles
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Italian Edition
No Result
View All Result
VNY
  • English Edition
  • Letters
  • New York
  • U.N.
  • News
  • People
  • Entertainment
  • Arts
  • Lifestyles
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
  • Sports
  • Italian Edition
No Result
View All Result
VNY La Voce di New York
No Result
View All Result
in
Travel
April 1, 2023
in
Travel
April 1, 2023
0

Monstrous Mat of Sargassum Heading for Coasts: Can we Sink it?

The unprecedented bloom demands some ingenious solutions, but scientists are stumped

Amanda JamesbyAmanda James
Monstrous Mat of Sargassum Heading for Coasts: Can we Sink it?

Photo: Youtube

Time: 2 mins read

There’s a monster headed for the Florida coast—and the Gulf of Mexico—and the Caribbean—and it’s going to have a huge impact on travel and tourism. Not to mention the havoc it may wreak on the economies of the locations that live off beach tourism.

It’s huge, a bloom so big it can be seen from space. “Across the Equatorial Atlantic, double the width of the United States, and several hundred kilometers north to south, at least,” explained Dr. Kevin Johnson, with Florida Tech’s marine sciences department.

The sargassum seaweed crawl towards these prime beach locations is not new, in fact it was a serious problem when Columbus and his fellow explorers  crossed the Atlantic and became “becalmed” in the midst of the Sargasso Sea, where it is born.

Columbus’s ship the ‘Santa Maria’ became becalmed with her sister ships for three days, and because sailors recognised seaweed as a sign of shallow waters, they became fearful of running aground, becoming entangled in the weed and being dragged down to the ocean floor. It was a major hazard at a time when ships were propelled by the wind.

Sargasso seaweed. Photo: Yutube

But around 2010 the annual bloom that had up to then been barely a problem, suddenly increased around the Caribbean fringes and made beaches a place you did not want to be. Not only does it become impossible to get into the water for the buildup of weed, but its sulfurous stink makes even proximity unpleasant. Not to mention the dead marine life that it has entangled and is now rotting within and beneath it. Sargassum in quantity is toxic.

To deal with the monstrous mat of seaweed that is anticipated this year, one idea that’s being floated by scientists is to sink it. But pulling the seaweed down to a point where it’s no longer buoyant raises some serious physical and economic challenges.

“The idea of having ships going out there and try and grab some of it and sink it, that’s a pretty daunting thing. I think the logistics of this are hard to wrap your brain around,” Johnson said.

And it’s more than just getting it to sink. If it does go to the depths, it could impact the fragile ecosystems in the deep sea.

“Taking a huge, many square miles mat of thick organic material produced up in the sunlight and then dropping it down to the bottom. It’s going to throw that ecosystem off a little bit,” Johnson said.

Some sargassum does sink naturally, but large amounts all at once could make an impact.

Another idea discussed is to deploy offshore booms to corral the seaweed before it can wash on shore. Booms are temporary floating barriers used to contain marine spills, protect the environment, and help with recovery. But like sinking the sargassum, there are logistical and ecological challenges.

“Probably a boom would be deployed near shore when the sargassum is getting close to the beach, so you can see where it’s going. But that’s also a bit tricky to operate vessels that near to shore and deploy the booms,” Johnson said.

But shifting currents and winds would require the boom operation to be very nimble to be in the right place at the right time to catch the sargassum.

The problem is very real, the proposed solutions enticing, but not very promising.

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Amanda James

Amanda James

DELLO STESSO AUTORE

Baby Shooters in America: First the Youngest Was a 6-Y-O and Now It’s a 3-Y-O

Baby Shooters in America: First the Youngest Was a 6-Y-O and Now It’s a 3-Y-O

byAmanda James
How Did the First Humans Evolve? It’s a Richer Story Than Scientists Thought

How Did the First Humans Evolve? It’s a Richer Story Than Scientists Thought

byAmanda James

A PROPOSITO DI...

Tags: Caribbean coastFloridaGulf of MexicoSargassum sea weed
Previous Post

Grande Sinner a Miami: batte il numero 1 del mondo Alcaraz e vola in finale

Next Post

Staff Trump, raccolti 4 milioni dollari dopo incriminazione

Discussion about this post

DELLO STESSO AUTORE

PM Justin Trudeau Challenges Giorgia Meloni on Her LGBTQ+ Rights Policies

PM Justin Trudeau Challenges Giorgia Meloni on Her LGBTQ+ Rights Policies

byAmanda James
The U.S. Named in Travel Advisories as “Unsafe” to Visit Due to Gun Violence

The U.S. Named in Travel Advisories as “Unsafe” to Visit Due to Gun Violence

byAmanda James

Latest News

- TnT by Dinaz - La voce di New York

Quando smette di piovere

byAlessandro Di Natale
Pericolo nucleare e i “Cinque punti” di Grossi per Zaporizhzhia

Pericolo nucleare e i “Cinque punti” di Grossi per Zaporizhzhia

byStefano Vaccara

New York

Another Summer, Another Lifeguard Shortage

Another Summer, Another Lifeguard Shortage

byLeo Gardner
In vendita la Duke House: l’ultima villa rimasta sulla Fifth Avenue

In vendita la Duke House: l’ultima villa rimasta sulla Fifth Avenue

byLa Voce di New York

Italiany

Made in Italy come sinonimo di qualità: all’ITA si confrontano gli imprenditori

Made in Italy come sinonimo di qualità: all’ITA si confrontano gli imprenditori

byLa Voce di New York
Intervista a Luisa Todini: “Con il Made in Italy possiamo conquistare gli Stati Uniti”

Intervista a Luisa Todini: “Con il Made in Italy possiamo conquistare gli Stati Uniti”

byNicola Corradi
Next Post
Staff Trump, raccolti 4 milioni dollari dopo incriminazione

Staff Trump, raccolti 4 milioni dollari dopo incriminazione

La Voce di New York

Editor in Chief:  Giampaolo Pioli   |   English Editor: Grace Russo Bullaro   |   Founded by Stefano Vaccara

Editor in Chief:  Giampaolo Pioli
—
English Editor: Grace Russo Bullaro
—
Founded by Stefano Vaccara

  • New York
    • Eventi
  • Onu
  • News
    • Primo Piano
    • Politica
    • Voto Estero
    • Economia
    • First Amendment
  • People
    • Nuovo Mondo
  • Arts
    • Arte e Design
    • Spettacolo
    • Musica
    • Libri
    • Lingua Italiana
  • Lifestyles
    • Fashion
    • Scienza e Salute
    • Sport
    • Religioni
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
    • Italia
  • Mediterraneo
  • English
  • Search/Archive
  • About us
    • Editorial Staff
    • President
    • Administration
    • Advertising

VNY Media La Voce di New York © 2016 / 2023 — La testata fruisce dei contributi diretti editoria d.lgs. 70/2017
Main Office: 230 Park Avenue, 21floor, New York, NY 10169 | Editorial Office/Redazione: UN Secretariat Building, International Press Corps S-301, New York, NY 10017

VNY Media La Voce di New York © 2016 / 2023
La testata fruisce dei contributi diretti editoria d.lgs. 70/2017

Main Office: 230 Park Avenue, 21floor, New York, NY 10169 | Editorial Office/Redazione: UN Secretariat Building, International Press Corps S-301, New York, NY 10017

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • New York
  • Onu
  • News
    • Elezioni 2022
    • Primo Piano
    • Politica
    • Economia
    • First Amendment
  • Arts
    • Speciale Venezia
    • Arte e Design
    • Spettacolo
    • Musica
    • Libri
  • Lifestyles
    • Fashion
    • Scienza e Salute
    • Sport
    • Religioni
  • Food & Wine
    • Cucina Italiana
  • Travel
    • Italia
  • English
    • Arts
    • Business
    • Entertainment
    • Food & Wine
    • Letters
    • Lifestyles
    • Mediterranean
    • New York
    • News
  • Subscribe for only $6/Year

© 2016/2022 VNY Media La Voce di New York

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms bellow to register

All fields are required. Log In
By clicking on "Create my account" or by registering, you accept the Term of Service and the Privacy Policy.

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Are you sure want to unlock this post?
Unlock left : 0
Are you sure want to cancel subscription?