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

Abstract

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.

The environmental impact and economic feasibility assessment of composite calcium alginate bioplastics derived from Sargassum

“…16,17 Within the Caribbean region, Sargassum natans (S. natans) brown seaweeds have been disrupting livelihoods aligned to tourism and fishery resources for the past decade. 18 Our own past studies have shown that sodium alginate (NaAlg) can be successfully extracted from this invasive seaweed 19,20 and used to fabricate compostable calcium alginate, Ca(Alg) 2 , bioplastics possessing comparable properties to those of synthetic and bio-based plastic alternatives, including good degradation under 14 days by depolymerisation in simulated aerobic conditions at 58 °C. 21 Alginate bioplastics are produced from renewable, plantbased resources and brown seaweed which makes use of the blue economy.…”

Escape from Sargasso Sea: Tremendous Sargassum Blooms Challenge Caribbean and Atlantic Communities

“…Since 2011, a floating aggregation of Sargassum patches, or “rafts,” has been growing in the Atlantic Ocean. 3 , 6 Called the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt (GASB), this floating mass can stretch nearly across, extending from West Africa into the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. 3 For coastal communities in its path, the seaweed is now an unwelcome fact of life.…”