ESA’s Sentinel-2 satellite has tracked the largest bloom of Sargassum seaweed ever recorded as it drifted toward the East Coast of the United States, washing millions of tons on thousands of miles of beaches. There is a risk of dumping rotten plants.
Famous for its history and folklore, the Sargasso Sea seems like a legend at first, but it turns out to be a hard fact. Christopher, who sailed there in 1492, first recorded in his Columbus’s logbook, is a huge calm place in the middle of the Atlantic, with great currents running around it, but not passing through it. . It’s located in low latitudes where winds may not blow for weeks at a time, leaving behind thousands of square miles of motionless deep blue water of astonishing clarity.
But what makes the Sea of Sargasso worth the hair on the back of its neck is the sargassum weed that grows there. It is a type of rootless, leafy algae with grape-like sacs that keep it afloat. To do. This has been a mystery for thousands of years.
This weed was a terrifying sight even for sailors. Columbus thought he was caught in it or indicated shallow water or reefs. Over the centuries it has developed a mythical reputation as a ship graveyard. There, a fleet of rotting hulls supposedly floated in a clutch of weeds after the stranded crew died of hunger and thirst.
It has also inspired many works of fiction, including the novels of Doc Savage, the works of Dennis Wheatley and Ezra Pound, and episodes of the Jonny Quest cartoon series.
Today Hondawara poses a more practical question. As part of ESA’s Earth Observation Science for Society initiative. Sentinel-2, 3, and 6 have monitored and tracked the latest recorded Sargassum bloom, which stretches 5,500 miles (8,800 km) from the coast of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico and is estimated to have a mass of 10 million tons. I was.
ESA
As long as the sargassum stays in deep water, it’s not a big problem, but as it gets closer to the Florida Keys, the Yucatan Peninsula, and the eastern Caribbean, it can have a devastating impact. In shallow water, sargassum can deplete water oxygen to critical levels, disrupting fisheries and local ecosystems. Once washed up on a beach, it quickly rots in the tropical sun, giving off toxic hydrogen sulfide gas and the nauseating stench of rotten eggs.
ESA and other agencies are paying close attention to the movement of giant mats, as they can result in millions of dollars in economic damage. Since it must pass through the Gulf Stream, it could be pushed northwards, where it ultimately ends up is still unknown. But one thing is for sure, many people invest in nets to keep them off the beach and in rakes, rakes and power units to get rid of them if they land.
Source: ESA
