DANIA BEACH, Fla. – Florida’s scorching summer season is bringing extra than simply sunshine. This week, seashores from Dania to Fort Lauderdale discovered themselves blanketed in thick mounds of smelly, decomposing seaweed — a now-familiar customer often known as sargassum.
Locals and guests have been greeted by the unmistakable scent of rotten eggs, a results of the seaweed releasing hydrogen sulfide fuel because it breaks down underneath the sweltering July solar. While not harmful in small quantities, the odor is sufficient to clear sunbathers from common spots like Dania Beach.
“It’s part of the new normal during Florida summers,” mentioned one native beachgoer. “Every few months, we cross our fingers that it doesn’t pile up too much.”
The perpetrator behind this pure mess is a mixture of persistent ocean currents and easterly winds, which push the brown algae towards the coast. While the inflow isn’t as excessive as in different elements of the Atlantic, it nonetheless poses a problem for seashore cleanup crews and tourism-dependent communities.
A Growing Trend, Not a One-Off
Photo Reports from FB GroupSargassum Seaweed Florida: Daily Updates and Photo Reports
This marks not less than the third main sargassum wave this yr, with comparable seashore takeovers reported in April and May. And specialists warn the season is probably not over.
According to the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab, the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and tropical Atlantic are nonetheless coping with bigger concentrations of sargassum, though there’s hope. Recent bulletins counsel that whereas deep-ocean blooms could begin to decline in late summer season, extra localized surges might hit coastal areas — particularly in locations just like the Yucatán, the Bahamas, and Florida.
That makes long-term forecasting tough. “Local wind and current conditions play a major role,” mentioned USF researchers. “Even if overall concentrations drop, pockets can still form and drift ashore unexpectedly.”
More Than Just a Nuisance?
Though sargassum could also be smelly and ugly, it’s not totally unhealthy information. The seaweed performs a beneficial function in marine ecosystems, providing shelter and meals for creatures like small fish, shrimp, and crabs. Environmentalists warning in opposition to hasty elimination, particularly within the water, the place it serves as a floating nursery.
That mentioned, Florida well being officers advise beachgoers to be cautious. While the seaweed itself is generally innocent, tiny marine organisms that conceal inside it may possibly trigger pores and skin irritation or rashes in some folks.
The Road Ahead
As the local weather warms and ocean patterns proceed to shift, scientists predict sargassum blooms could turn out to be extra frequent — and presumably extra intense. For now, Florida beachgoers are studying to reside with the seaweed, whilst they hope for clearer sands forward.
In the meantime, cleanup crews stay on excessive alert, and tourism boards urge guests to verify native seashore situations earlier than heading out.