Tag Archives: Environment: Scientists Work to Solve Caribbean Seaweed Mystery – By VOA

Environment: Scientists Work to Solve Caribbean Sargassum Seaweed Mystery – By VOA

October 09, 2021 – by VOA

A tourist tosses sargassum into the air at Marlin Beach in Cancun, Mexico May 30, 2021. (REUTERS/Paola Chiomante)
A tourist tosses sargassum into the air at Marlin Beach in Cancun, Mexico May 30, 2021. (REUTERS/Paola Chiomante)

Ten years ago, scientists were shocked when a huge amount of seaweed appeared in tropical waters in the Atlantic Ocean. The area where it was found usually lacks the nutrients to feed such growth.

Years later, a group of U.S. researchers has identified one of the leading causes for the event: city and farm runoff carried by rivers to the ocean. This nutrient-charged outflow is just one of several likely suspects fueling an explosion of seaweed in warm waters of the Americas.          Continue reading

%d bloggers like this: