I'm not sure the sargassum floating in here is unprecedented. I recall it fouling my leash and covering the beaches many times of the past 30 years. But I was saying it's not a local pollution problem indicator because it comes from - well the sargasso sea.

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Replace turf grass with native plants that don't need irrigation and synthetic fertilizers or chemicals that can go into our waterways and ocean

Yes the Sargassum bloom isn't local, it just drifts in when the currents dictate, as always. But the amount of the stuff that is out there in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean and southern Gulf is off the charts compared to historical records. There is increasing evidence that the stuff in the deep tropics and Caribbean is not originating in the Sargasso Sea but is actually growing and proliferating in the affected areas. Increases in dissolved CO2, dust from Africa, upwelling from really intense cyclones, are a few suspected sources of nutrients to fuel the growth.

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That article ww posted was nuts. Mysterious Masses Seaweed Assault Caribbean Islands

Edited: 10/02/2018 at 07:23 AM by PUNCH22

Well someone figured out a use for it

The sarassum wrack line in great for dune development (especuially in out flat beaches up here, but A few years back when we had ALOT wash up in st. augustine. I used a bunch to mulch in my veggie garden with GREAT results (makesure you rinse off th salt first though). (and before the "police" comments....yes, it's usually illegal to harvest in some places.... but I'm such a rebel

Edited: 10/03/2018 at 05:59 AM by Plan B