Alarm for a sea of ​​seaweed between Africa and the Caribbean that grows thanks to fertilizers

The Caribbean You can be proud to have some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. But a plague of algae that started emerge in mid-2011 can change everything. It is about Sargbadum, a brown seaweed. It grows in tropical waters and generally has its roots at the bottom of the sea, but there are species that float in the waters. It can grow to several meters and, as it grows, its stems intertwine as a network.

Once on the beach, Sargbadum should be removed as soon as possible. Otherwise, it is decomposed by action of bacteria that consume oxygen from the water, what kills animals that live there, while its dark path blocks sunlight it thus eliminates life from the bottom of the ocean.

In addition, ends with the turquoise tone of the Caribbean, a phenomenon that could be irreversible because we do not know if this ecosystem can recycle waste, it releases a stench and they can even become a barrier that prevents people from entering the ocean. From the state of Florida (United States) to Isla Margarita (Venezuela), many cases of this latter scenario have already occurred.

The original sea of ​​Sargbadum is located in the eastern United States and northwestern Cuba. Now the satellites of the NASA They have located a new one whose origin has not yet been elucidated, even though it is believed that its growth was driven by natural and artificial fertilizers.

A study published in the magazine Science and which consisted of 19 years of observations, said that each year, millions of Sargbadum emerged in the central Atlantic, far from the original sea. Moved by ocean currents, they move from Africa to the Caribbean. This new sea appeared in mid-2011 and reached 8,850 kilometers last year, or 20 million tonnes of plant biombad.

Before 2011, there were already small amounts of sargbadum in the tropical Atlantic, but they did not develop mbadive blooms before that year.

"Before 2011, there were already small amounts of sargbadum in the tropical Atlantic, but they did not develop mbadive blooms until this year"explained the Professor of Optical Oceanography at the University of South Florida (USA) and co-author of the study, Chuanmin Hu.

The authors of the study believe that the key to the growth of this alga lies in the sediments of the Atlantic. After badyzing the average annual deforestation recorded since 2000, the increase in fertilizer consumption in Brazil and nitrogen and phosphorus samples in the western margin of the central Atlantic mean that mouth of large rivers loaded with nutrients waste of human activity, the the desertification and the global warming, promote their proliferation.

"It contains more nutrients than the original sargbade seaOn top of that, there are deforestation problems in Africa and South America, "says Brigitta Van Tussenbroek, a researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).

Due to Sargbadum plague, there is a lack of activity on several beaches of the Riviera Mayalike that of Tulum. With the exception of tourists wishing to swim 50 meters from the sea or those who pay a boat to reach clear waters, the rest does not come into contact with the ocean. The surveillance network of Sargazo Cancún has published on Facebook a video in which you can see the progress of this seaweed on the Mexican coast.

The explosive escalation of this microorganism threatens irreversibly damage this ecosystem from southeastern Mexico and turn it into a pestilential swamp. The phenomenon has also touched other points of the Caribbean such as Barbados, Guadalupe and Bonaire.

In June, it was announced that Mexico will invest about $ 2.7 million to fight against Sargbadum in a strategy that includes the construction of special ships.

B.D.N./FeL