Sargassum has become one of the most problematic natural occurrences for beachgoers in the Gulf of Mexico, and even in parts of the Atlantic.
Sargassum is a type of algae that floats on the ocean’s surface. There’s good news about sargassum: it’s ecologically important because it provides shelter and food to marine life, including newborn fish, turtles, and more. But there’s bad news, too: while a few sargassum deposits are okay, the last decade has seen larger blooms that are disrupting beaches across the Caribbean.
According to the University of South Florida, sargassum blooms picked up in 2013. As early as 2018, the university (along with other scientific groups) began tracking sargassum blooms using advanced tools to measure their size and impact, along with predicting incoming deposits…