I remember finally making it to the nearby beach in Cancun. As I took each step, I could feel the sand in between my toes and my feet slowly being swallowed up. When I got closer to the water, I saw so much washed-up seaweed that created an end-to-end barrier between land and sea. It wasn’t the prettiest sight, since it’s brown and not flattering against the natural blue ocean. It also gave off a rotten salty smell caused by hydrogen sulfide, which is one explanation to drive tourists away from relaxing there. Which got me thinking, why are there huge blooms of seaweed piling up onto beaches?
Researchers say, after gathering some data, that the likely causes of the growing seaweed problem are warming waters, the growing human nitrogen footprint, and Saharan dust clouds. This specific type of seaweed is called sargassum, which shelters sea turtle hatchlings and juvenile fish. Sargassum thrives in warmer water and feeds off the nutrients, such as nitrogen from human activity and the nitrogen cycle. It also feeds off of the Saharan dust clouds that traveled thousands of miles. The dust fertilizes the seaweed, along with plankton with the nutrients, such as nitrogen, iron, and phosphorus.
After learning about why there is so much sargassum, I also came across the topic that kelp forests are under threat of becoming extinct. There is a decreasing population due to rising sea temperatures, mechanical dredging, and the building of coastal infrastructure. Kelp can’t thrive in warm waters; it grows best in waters whose temperatures are between 5 and 20 degrees Celsius and are nutrient-rich. Kelp forests are important because they are the nurseries of the sea and they provide habitat and food for marine life. Without them, it would be like the Amazon with no trees, it wouldn’t be able to provide the resources for other living life, and there will be no biodiversity to have a balance in the ecosystem.
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