Marine Science Faculty Publications
The great Atlantic Sargassum Belt
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-2019
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aaw7912
Abstract
Pelagic Sargassum is abundant in the Sargasso Sea, but a recurrent great Atlantic Sargassum belt (GASB) has been observed in satellite imagery since 2011, often extending from West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. In June 2018, the 8850-kilometer GASB contained >20 million metric tons of Sargassum biomass. The spatial distribution of the GASB is mostly driven by ocean circulation. The bloom of 2011 might be a result of Amazon River discharge in previous years, but recent increases and interannual variability after 2011 appear to be driven by upwelling off West Africa during boreal winter and by Amazon River discharge during spring and summer, indicating a possible regime shift and raising the possibility that recurrent blooms in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean Sea may become the new norm.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Science, v. 365, issue 6448, p. 83-87
Scholar Commons Citation
Wang, Mengqiu; Hu, Chuanmin; Barnes, Brian B.; Mitchum, Gary; Lapointe, Brian; and Montoya, Joseph P., "The great Atlantic Sargassum Belt" (2019). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 2008.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2008
