She coversreal estate and how growth affects South Florida's environment. MS Thesis, University of South Florida, 118pp. Lapointe, B. E., L. E. West, T. T. Sutton, and C. Hu (2014), Ryther revisited: nutrient excretions by fishes enhance productivity of pelagic Sargassum in the western North Atlantic Ocean, J. Exp. And researchers warn that this seasonal so-called Sargassum storm is likely to get worsebefore easing up, as all the excess weeds at sea wash in with the winds and currents, often wrapped in a filamentous brown algae that's only making things worse. Jupiter divers who freed sharks, destroyed angler's gear avoid harshest penalties. Franks, J., D. R. Johnson, D. S. Ko, G. Sanchez-Rubio, J.R. Hendon, and M. Lay (2011), Unprecedented Influx of pelagic Sargassum along Caribbean island coastlines during summer 2011, Proc. 2022; Sargassum is worsening the conditions . But 2018 was among the worst in Florida, Lapointe said, adding that this year could rival that year's bloom. "The air was so toxic I couldn't walk down there," Lindsay said. Environ., 167, 229-246. doi: doi:10.1016/j.rse.2015.05.022, Huffard, C. L., S. von Thun, A. D. Sherman, K. Sealey, and K. L. Smith Jr. (2014). Besides being a stinky and itchy nuisance, experts say were seeing more Sargassum seaweed than usual across the entire Atlantic. According to. #sargassum #sargazo #sargasso #sargasses #sargassummonitoring 1 Sargassum Monitoring To anyone who is there have you seen any around the keys? That's one way that they track the sargassum in the ocean and how much can be estimated. In April 2022, the overall Sargassum amount increased significantly across the tropical Atlantic, the Caribbean Sea (CS), the Gulf of Mexico (GoM), and . One mystery this year is the proliferation of the sargassum in the winter months when it usually sees its growth spurt in spring and summer, said Hu, noting that his team has not tied warmer water temperatures to larger blooms. The beach was unusable for much of the summer, it was scratching your thighs, it was just disgusting.. (Mark Collins, WJXT) This summer is seeing the most seaweed ever on record in the. Website Clearwater Beach See on Instagram Hours: Daily until dark Address: 112 S. Osceola Avenue, Clearwater, FL. . It grows in the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea. LaPointe suggested using floating barriers to keep the seaweed from coming ashore. How bad is Sargassum Problem in Punta Cana? According. Bayahibe, a beautiful resort town about an hours drive from Punta Cana, offers pristine beaches free of seaweed all year. More:Worldwide mystery: What are those things the oceans been dumping on Palm Beach? Sargassum is definitely a big concern for tourists planning a vacation to Punta Cana. According to Reportur, the amount of sargassum floating in the Central Atlantic Ocean in November 2022 increased to an astounding 6 million tons by December 2022. Information from the Optical Oceanography Laboratory of the University of South Florida indicates that Sargassum in the Caribbean Sea has increased by more than 100% since December 2021. Scientists are concerned. However, you must understand that the sargassum is a natural phenomenon. Oceanography 28(3):810, Sargasso Sea Commission (link: http://www.sargassoseacommission.org/publications-and- news/worldwide-sargassum), The Journey of the Sargassum forum (link: http://ambergriscaye.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/506457/the-journey-of-the-sargassum.html). In the past five or six years we tend to see more and more sargassum than five or six years ago, said Hu. Punta Cana is expected to face a huge sargassum crisis in 2023.Punta Cana Seaweed Season 2022Punta Cana seaweed season usually runs from March to September every yearBest Seaweed-free Beaches in Punta CanaBayahibe, Macao beach, and Uvero Alto. "The month of June in 2022 had a record high Sargassum amount compared to any previous year," said Chuanmin Hu, a professor with the University of South Florida's Oceanography Lab. People dont like it because its unsightly, said Mahady, the Boynton Beach ocean rescue chief. Small amounts of Sargassum coverage lingered in the central Caribbean Sea (CS), while essentially none was observed in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Hilton La Romana, an All-Inclusive Family Resort. Huge Sargassum blooms blanketed beaches alongthe east coast of Barbados and Puerto Rico in 2014, as well. We tried to go farther in, but the farther you get, the more seaweed youre going to get all over, said Tanya Suarez, another beachgoer on Dania Beach. However, it is important to note that in 2022, small waves of sargassum continued to wash up on Punta Canas beaches until the beginning of December 2022, well after the end of the sargassum season. Lapointe calls Sargassum the largest seasonalalgae bloom on the planet. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Apart from the Dominican Republic, almost all of the Caribbean countries including Mexico, Barbados, and Belize are affected by this problem. Jupiter is hot spot for sharks munching on line-caught fish; now what can be done about it? Cancun Sargassum Conditions: Forecast for 2022 It is obvious now that this will be the worst sargassum season in five years. Joaquin.Trinanes@noaa.gov, Gustavo Goni If you have news tips, please send them to kmiller@pbpost.com. However, excessive amounts of Sargassum on beaches in populated areas can cause a lot of problems and they must be physically removed. - 6p.m. The raw satellite data are provided by the U.S. NASA and USGS. Aruba SEAWEED Problem [2023]: Everything You Need To Know!! Bayahibes beaches are more relaxed than Punta Canas, with fewer tourists and far fewer vendors trying to sell you souvenirs. Webster, R. K., and T. Linton (2013), Development and implementation of Sargassum Early Advisory System (SEAS), Shore and Beach, 81(3): 1 6. This year the Town of Palm Beach has a contract to either bury the sargassum at the north end of the island or remove it if there is too much to bury. Witherington B., H. Shigetomo, and R. Hardy (2012), Young sea turtles of the pelagic Sargassum-dominated drift community: habitat use, population density, and threats, Mar Ecol Prog Ser 463: 1-22. At first blush it might seem like sargassum is just a big mess, causing nothing but work and problems. If you like to fish, you may have heard these floating algae mats called the "weed line," and they . Hus Optical Oceanography lab at USF measures the sargassum by satellite and has images dating back decades. In fact, experts are predicting that the sargassum crisis in 2023 could be as bad as the one in 2022, or even worse. He was part of a team of scientists that discovered the worlds largest sargassum bloom in the Atlantic Ocean, dubbing it the Great Atlantic Sargassum belt. 33756 <> Palm Beach, like many towns, cleans its public beaches with mechanical raking devices. Is there still a seaweed problem in Punta Cana in 2023? The total amount of sargassum in the Atlantic is bigger than what satellites registered last year, which is not very encouraging, he added. FAU researchers have shown seasonal Sargassum in Florida and elsewhere in the tropical Atlantic have grown worse in recent years because of increasing nitrogen and phosphorus from discharges from the Congo, Amazon and Mississippi rivers, atmospheric deposition from Saharan dust, and biomass burning of vegetation in central and South Africa. The big question is will this spring and summer be extra stinky on our beaches from this seaweed? Kimberly Miller is a veteran journalist for The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA Today Network of Florida. The sargassum has a very special color tone, that can differentiate itself from the background water, so even if there is a tiny different we can squeeze the signal out, Hu added. stream Help support our local journalism, subscribe today. Will Punta Cana face a huge sargassum crisis in 2023, as it did in 2022? A year ago, fed by sewage and fertilizers in Brazil and thereabouts, the same seaweed kept coming all summer long. Sargassum, a seaweed that often washes up the Florida coast, is expected to be extra abundant this year. As a result, popular beach destinations on the Dominican Republics northern coast, such as Puerto Plata, are also excellent options for a sargassum-free beach vacation. Sargassum Early Advisory System (SEAS), Sargassum Early Advisory System (SEAS): A comparison of Sargassum landing amounts vs cold fronts on the Gulf Coast, 1001 Texas Clipper Rd, Galveston, TX 77554. The year 2022 was particularly bad, as a large amount of sargassum seaweed landed on the shores of many Caribbean countries, ruining their pristine white sand beaches and spoiling the holidays of many tourists. However, there are still numerous places in Punta Cana that are completely sargassum-free, allowing you to enjoy Punta Canas world-famous gorgeous beaches without concern for seaweed. The purpose of this forecasting system is to predict extremely large windrows, rather than patches or debris of seaweed. Childrens Parks and Playgrounds in the Cayman Islands, earlier warning of a growing bloom of sargassum, 3 women arrested in illegal gambling raid, MYSCH Hosts Reception for Winning CARIFTA 2022 Teams, Rotting seaweed ends sargassum-removal trial, Sea of sargassum: Invasion spreads in North Sound, Expected increase in sargassum poses threat to nesting turtles, Millions of tons of sargassum blossoming in Atlantic, Iguanas run riot as rugby title race reaches halfway point, Three hurt as dump truck, rental car collide, Lawless seas? Two examples are given below. It literally fills manmade canals, coming right up in front of people's homes and surrounding docks.. Foul-smelling sargassum seaweed does provide beach benefit. According to the study, our waste canturna critical nursery habitat into toxic algae dead zones, "with catastrophic impacts on coastal ecosystems, economies, and human health.". 140 7th Avenue S, MSL119 Gower, J., C. Hu, G, Borstad, and S. King (2006), Ocean color satellites show extensive lines of floating Sargassum in the Gulf of Mexico, IEEE Trans. Updated: May 22, 2021 / 11:08 AM EDT. 2023 www.floridatoday.com. For centuries, pelagicSargassum, floating brown seaweed, have grown in low nutrient waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, supported by natural nutrient sources such as fish and invertebrates excretions andocean upwelling. Sargassum in the Florida Keys By Helen Briggs BBC News A floating mass of seaweed stretching from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico is now the biggest seaweed bloom in the world, according to. However, looking at the recent history, it is possible that small waves of sargassum may arrive in Punta Cana much earlier than March 2023. The rotten egg smell in the Keys from the decomposing sargassum has prompted at least one online guidebook to have a chapter titled Why do the Florida Keys smell like sulfur?. Never, said Gigi Rodriguez, a beachgoer trying to avoid the soggy situation on Dania Beach. The month of June in 2022 had a record high Sargassum amount compared to any previous year, said Chuanmin Hu, a professor with the University of South Floridas Oceanography Lab. % This is a record-breaking number, and it indicates that massive waves of sargassum will land on the beaches of Punta Cana and other Caribbean countries in 2023. Outlook of 2022 Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico* December 31, 2022, by University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab (bbarnes4@usf.edu, yuyuan@usf.edu, huc@usf.edu) The maps below show Sargassum abundance, with warm colors representing higher values. Seasonal seaweed is nothing new as its been creeping up since 2011, but experts have been looking into the cause. Robert Webster ingeniously navigated the development of the SEAS Program. Punta Cana Seaweed Forecast 2023The sargassum season in 2023 is expected to be just as bad as the one in 2022. However, as I previously stated, this is a temporary problem that varies from day to day, season to season, and place to place. Sargassum, in other words, is very unpredictable and very difficult to track. USF-NASA : 2023 major blooms of sargassum ? The berries are filled with air and other gases; they float and help sargassum drift at the ocean surface, where it grows. But, like in 2022, it is possible that Punta Cana may continue to be hit by small-scale sargassum waves even after September 2023. Visit floridatoday.com/subscribe. Hu, C (2009), A novel ocean color index to detect floating algae in the global oceans, Remote Sens. "During winter months they typically stay rather low. Tulum SEAWEED Problem [2023]: Everything You Need To Know! ", Penalties:Jupiter divers who freed sharks, destroyed angler's gear avoid harshest penalties. But during the turtle nesting season from March 1 through Oct. 31, the cleaners have to stay below the high tide line. It seems now that extreme blooms appear on an almost yearlybasis, and with increasingly more toxic potential. Visit this Facebook group to check the current sargassum conditions in Punta Cana. Bingham Oceanog. Sargassum has leafy tubular branches and berries. Some cities have tried to clean up the seaweed, but it can be expensive and can cause beach erosion. Its a well-known fact that the majority of hotels in Punta Cana have live cameras overlooking the beaches. It is also a marine resource for other uses such as biomass for food, fuel, and as a possible source of pharmaceutical materials. The University of South Florida's December . In fact, many places in Punta Cana are now protected by seaweed barriers in 2023, and the local hotels also have dedicated staff that works diligently day and night to keep the beaches clean. Summer be extra stinky on our beaches from this seaweed a vacation to Punta,... 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