Assessing temporal dynamics on pelagic Sargassum influx and its relationship with water quality parameters in the Mexican Caribbean

Rodríguez-Muñoz, Rodolfo; Muñiz-Castillo, Aarón Israel; Euán-Ávila, Jorge Iván; Hernández-Núñez, Héctor; Valdés-Lozano, David; Collí-Dulá, Reyna Cristina; Arias‐González, Jesús Ernesto

doi:10.1016/j.rsma.2021.102005

Cited by 7 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Sargasso can be found in the Western Caribbean in all months, with increased coverage and recurrence in the summer, when the impact on the coasts was severe, mainly in the north of Quintana Roo ( van Tussenbroek et al, 2017;Casas-Beltrań et al, 2020;Chavez et al, 2020;Rodrıǵuez-Muñoz et al, 2021). Despite this clear seasonal pattern, intense episodes are seen all along the coast in fall and winter, except on the western side of the Cozumel Channel.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Part of the pelagic sargasso at sea is destined to arrive on Caribbean shores, causing diverse negative impacts on coastal ecosystems (Silva et al, 2016;van Tussenbroek et al, 2017;Chavez et al, 2020;Bartlett and Elmer, 2021;Maurer et al, 2021;Rodrıǵuez-Muñoz et al, 2021), local and regional economics (Solarin et al, 2014;Milledge and Harvey, 2016), and human health (Devault et al, 2021). The impacts include aesthetics (of the previously pristine white beaches), additional organic matter input, light attenuation, anoxia, and leaching ( van Tussenbroek et al, 2017;Chavez et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multiscale distribution patterns of pelagic rafts of sargasso (Sargassum spp.) in the Mexican Caribbean (2014–2020)

Uribe-Martínez¹,

Berriel-Bueno

Chávez

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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As the biomass of pelagic Sargassum spp. increased across the North Atlantic equatorial recirculation region from 2011 onwards, massive rafts of sargasso appeared in the Western Caribbean in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020. These events raised concerns regarding their negative consequences on the environment, local income, and human wellbeing. As adequate monitoring and analysis tools are needed for designing in-water and on-beach control strategies to reduce potential negative impacts, more robust and spatially explicit information is needed in order to improve sargasso management and focus restoration efforts. In this paper, we offer a spatiotemporal multiscale description of sargasso distribution and dynamics for 2014–2020 in the Mexican Caribbean: (1) for the entire region (millions of km2); (2) at the local scale (thousands of km2) evaluating the dynamics inside the reef lagoon at Puerto Morelos, Mexico; and finally, (3) specific beach observations (hundreds of km2) derived from data on beach cleaning volumes. Fifteen areas in the Mexican Caribbean, with different sargasso dispersions and on-shore accumulations, were evaluated. The areas around Tulum, Solidaridad, and Puerto Morelos have the most extreme and most frequent episodes but also exhibited the greatest seasonal variability. Extreme sargasso presence can occur in the Western Caribbean in any season, albeit with increasing coverage and recurrence in the summer. Images from a coastal video monitoring station at Puerto Morelos showed that massive sargasso beaching was associated with low energy conditions (Hs< 0.25 m, wind speed<4 m/s, neap tide), while non-accumulation of sargasso on the beach occurred under high energy conditions (Hs >0.4 m, wind speed = 8 m/s, spring tide). Time-series analyses of sargasso beaching showed different periods of historic maximum sargasso coverage over July–October 2018 and others in January–February 2019. Wind and wave regimes influenced sargasso in distinct ways, depending on the coastal section, probably related to coastline morphology, oceanic regime, or the extent of the continental platform. This work presents the longest systematic time series (2014-2020) of high resolution satellite detected sargasso in Mexico. Spatial and temporal patterns are proposed as fundamental steps for managing sargasso accumulations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiscale distribution patterns of pelagic rafts of sargasso (Sargassum spp.) in the Mexican Caribbean (2014–2020)

Uribe-Martínez¹,

Berriel-Bueno

Chávez

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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“…The strong absorption bands located at 1100 cm −1 in the fingerprint region correspond to C-F stretching modes associated with the cellulose molecule. Finally, the band observed at 670 cm −1 corresponds to the tension vibrations of C-S and C=S of sulfated compounds [33]. According to the results of this analysis, no organic arsenates were found in SGP, which, if present, would have exhibited strong absorption bands in the region between 820 and 470 cm −1 ; this is a consequence of the fact that seaweed absorbs water nutrients from the place where it is found, and it implies that this sargassum has no toxic compounds on it [31].…”

Section: Infrared Spectroscopymentioning

confidence: 98%

Sargassum-Modified Asphalt: Effect of Particle Size on Its Physicochemical, Rheological, and Morphological Properties

et al. 2021

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The effect of sargassum particle size on the final properties of sargassum-modified asphalt is investigated in this article. Seaweed sargassum particles were first obtained and characterized through elemental analysis, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction, and FTIR spectroscopy. Additionally, pure and sargassum-modified asphalt blends were evaluated through physical and rheological tests such as penetration, softening point, thermal stability, dynamic viscosity, failure temperature, and epifluorescence microscopy. Modified asphalt blends were prepared by the hot mixing technique using different proportions of sargassum particles of two maximum sizes: 500 μm and 850 μm. Incorporating 3.0 wt.% of sargassum particles under 500 μm into the asphalt increased the viscosity of the original binder by a factor of 2.5 and its complex modulus by a factor of 1.9. At the same time, its failure temperature was 11 °C higher than the reference asphalt, which implies an improved viscoelastic behavior and rutting resistance at high temperatures. The study results suggest that the particles under 500 μm were responsible for the most significant effect on the final properties of the asphalt. Moreover, the storage stability test revealed that the modified asphalt blends are stable when the sargassum particle content was kept below 3.0 wt.%. The statistical analysis of the effect of sargassum particle size and concentration on the modified asphalt properties revealed that the rheological behavior is more affected by the modifier particle size; in contrast, the conventional physical properties were more determined by its concentration. Therefore, using low proportions of fine sargassum particles is efficient for improving the physical and rheological properties of the original asphalt, which is not only positive from the asphalt modification technology point of view but also from a sustainable perspective, since seaweed sargassum has become a useless plague in many coastal regions.

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“…the nearshore or have made land, the most common management approach is in situ removal (in ocean or beaches) [67,74,[77][78][79][80]. Mechanical removal has been used, although it is increasingly criticised as this can damage coastal habitats leading to erosion, dune destruction or loss of critical nutrients [81,82].…”

Section: Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Brown algae invasions and bloom events need routine monitoring for effective adaptation

Almela,

Tompkins,

Dash

et al. 2023

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Brown algae blooms and invasions have affected 29% of the Earth’s coast, yet there is sparse evidence of the impacts and adaptations of these events. Through a systematic review of empirical literature on these blooms and invasions, we explore the prevalence of conventional analyses of environmental, economic, and social impacts, as well as opportunities for adaptation and valorisation. The study reveals crucial inconsistencies in the current evidence base on algae impacts: fragmented metrics for quantifying blooms and their effects; inconsistent application and testing of prevention measures (e.g. forecasting, early warning systems); reliance on removal as a management approach with limited evidence of associated costs; and scant evidence of the effectiveness of impact mitigation or adaptation strategies. With a focus on economic and societal dimensions of algae events, we introduce emerging opportunities within the blue economy for bloom utilization. The findings highlight the crucial need for harmonized monitoring protocols, robust cost-benefit analysis of management and adaptation options, and evidence of pathways to valorisation of algae biomass.

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Assessing temporal dynamics on pelagic Sargassum influx and its relationship with water quality parameters in the Mexican Caribbean

Cited by 7 publications

References 43 publications

Multiscale distribution patterns of pelagic rafts of sargasso (Sargassum spp.) in the Mexican Caribbean (2014–2020)

Multiscale distribution patterns of pelagic rafts of sargasso (Sargassum spp.) in the Mexican Caribbean (2014–2020)

Sargassum-Modified Asphalt: Effect of Particle Size on Its Physicochemical, Rheological, and Morphological Properties

Brown algae invasions and bloom events need routine monitoring for effective adaptation

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