. Earth Science News .
WATER WORLD
Washed up: Sargassum blankets beaches
by Staff Writers
Paris (ESA) Jul 31, 2019

file image

Over the last month, massive quantities of the Sargassum seaweed have been washing up on the shores of Mexico, Florida in the US and some Caribbean islands, creating a serious environmental problem and causing havoc for the tourist industry. ESA has been tracking this slimy infestation from space.

Sargassum is a large brown algae, first spotted by Columbus during his voyage to the Americas. Out at sea, Sargassum is an important habitat for marine species providing food, refuge and breeding grounds. However, when it collects along coastlines, it rots, producing a pungent smell and attracting flies. This can mean a real problem for tourism in coastal communities.

Sargassum, like other floating marine vegetation, absorbs atmospheric carbon dioxide - an important greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming - through photosynthesis and converts it into organic carbon.

A paper published recently in Science, The great Atlantic Sargassum belt, details how scientists have tracked this brown macroalgae using 19 years' of satellite data. Last year, for example, the brown belt hit a high, stretching 8850 km from west Africa to the Gulf of Mexico - which is around the same length as the Great Wall of China.

The paper suggests that deforestation and runoff from fertiliser into the Amazon River, which discharges into the Atlantic Ocean, has stimulated its growth. Based on computer simulations, the paper confirms that the Sargassum algae forms its shape in response to ocean currents.

The seaweed has been causing issues since 2011, across the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and Florida. The Mexican government has reportedly spent millions of dollars in an attempt to remove over 500 000 tonnes of seaweed from its beaches.

Josef Aschbacher, ESA's Director of Earth Observation Programmes, said, "This year's bloom is particularly bad, causing a risk to public health and affecting the tourism industry. And, in response to a request from the Mexican Space Agency, we are helping to provide satellite images of this current disaster."

As part of ESA's Earth Observation Science for Society initiative, ESA has joined forces with CLS-NovaBlue Environment, to monitor floating Sargassum in the Caribbean area using data from Earth observation satellites. The project allows the integration of data from the Copernicus Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 missions to complement data from the ocean-colour sensors MODIS-Aqua and MODIS-Terra to calculate a daily Sargassum index.

In addition, the Ocean Virtual Laboratory is a virtual platform funded by ESA, which allows oceanographers to discover the world's waters. The virtual lab uses more than 350 datasets, Copernicus Sentinel data and in situ models to improve the scientific understanding of ocean and coastal processes.

Craig Donlon, Principal Scientist for oceans and ice at ESA, said, "Tracking Sargassum is important because once it accumulates on beaches it causes significant problems including issues for public health, and for the economy such as lass of income from tourism, the cost of clean-up operations.

"Earth observation data are important inputs to services and organisations tasked to monitor Sargassum masses at sea, helping to forecast when it will arrive on shore allowing local communities to act and plan accordingly."


Related Links
Ocean Virtual Laboratory
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


WATER WORLD
Rock lobster's organs, reflexes harmed by seismic air guns
Washington (UPI) Jul 25, 2019
Whales and dolphins aren't the only species negatively affected by seismic surveys. According to a new study, the sensory organs and righting reflexes of rock lobsters are harmed by seismic air guns. For the study, researchers in Australia blasted seismic air gun noise in Tasmania's Storm Bay. When scientists examined rock lobsters impacted by the seismic blasts, they observed damage to the crustacean's sensory organ, the statocyst, as well as specimens' reflexes. "While the impact of ai ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

WATER WORLD
Natural disasters cause greater havoc in 2019: Munich Re

Dozens of migrants still stuck on vessel in Italy port

FAA Adopts NASA Aviation Distress Beacon Recommendations

Climate change increasing hurricanes, storms, floods, North Carolina records show

WATER WORLD
GOES-17 Mishap Investigation Board Study Completed

Recovering color images from scattered light

Pentagon stalls $10 bn cloud contract eyed by Amazon

Camera can watch moving objects around corners

WATER WORLD
500 years on, how Magellan's voyage changed the world

British town evacuated as dam disintegrates

Pacific leaders want summit focus on climate, not China

Anxious wait at collapsing UK dam after more rain

WATER WORLD
Canadian iceberg hunter on the trail of white gold

'Iceberg Corridor' sparks tourist boom on Canada's east coast

Glaciologists unveil most precise map ever of Antarctic ice velocity

Heatwave threatens to accelerate ice melt in Greenland

WATER WORLD
Ecological land grab: food vs fuel vs forests

EU agriculture not viable for the future

Buzz kill: mass bee deaths sting Russian beekeepers

China says has begun purchase of more US farm goods

WATER WORLD
12 killed as flooding paralyses Pakistan's Karachi

Mathematical model identifies acoustic signal preceding seismic shake

Eight killed as quakes hit far northern Philippines

Battle to rescue wildlife at India's flood-hit animal park

WATER WORLD
Mozambique govt, opposition Renamo sign historic peace pact

Mozambique leader says will ink formal peace deal with Renamo Thursday

Renamo fighters start disarming in Mozambique; Algeria's army chief rejects pre-conditions

4 killed as Tanzania police clash with illegal fishermen

WATER WORLD
Human genetic diversity of South America reveals complex history of Amazonia

How humans and chimpanzees travel towards a goal in rainforests

Working memory in chimpanzees, humans works similarly

Out of Africa and into an archaic human melting pot









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.