Sargassum Mystery: Threat of washing up on Florida beaches minimal
MIAMI - The threat of large mats of Sargassum seaweed washing up on Florida beaches this summer is no more.
Scientists say the seaweed belt has suffered a mortal blow after a month of unusually strong winds from early tropical storms, according to CBS Miami news partner The Miami Herald.
The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt stretched 5,000 miles from the west coast of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico and mats that broke off plagued some of the state's beaches for weeks.
Scientists at the University of South Florida that track the seaweed said they predicted the drop off to happen in June but they never expected it to drop this much. They believe the winds either dissipated the sargassum or made it sink.
In the Gulf of Mexico, 75 percent of it disappeared last month. In the western Caribbean, Two-thirds vanished and 25 percent of the sargassum in the eastern Caribbean is also gone. Very little sargassum remained around the Florida Keys and the east coast of Florida by the end of the month.
So it seems like the threat of seaweed this summer may be minimal.
Sargassum is a brown seaweed that floats in large masses, according to NOAA. The seaweed, which is a type of algae, never reaches the floor of the ocean because it has berry-like bubbles called pneumatocysts, which are filled with oxygen and make the mass buoyant.
When it reaches the shore, another gas comes into play - hydrogen sulfide. This is produced as the seaweed rots and it smells like rotten eggs.
Inhaling hydrogen sulfide can make it harder to breathe, especially if you have a breathing condition like asthma. And while it can also irritate your eyes, nose, and throat, it is not expected to cause long-term health effects if you encounter it on the beach, because the fresh air can dilute the gas.