Giant floating blob of stinky sargassum floating toward Texas coast
In this aerial view, beachgoers walk past seaweed that washed ashore on March 16, 2023 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Reports indicate that this summer, a huge mass of sargassum seaweed that has formed in the Atlantic Ocean is possibly headed for the Florida coastlines and shores throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
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The same massive, smelly, floating blob of seaweed threatening Florida beaches in recent weeks could wash up the Texas coast after crossing the Gulf of Mexico. Spanning roughly 5,000 miles, the thick blanket of sargassum looming in the Atlantic Ocean is record-breaking, according to recent reports.
The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, the official name for the floating brown seaweed patch, contained some 13 million tons of seaweed by the end of March, according to researchers at the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab. The entire Gulf Coast, including the Texas coast, is set to get some of the sargassum, according to a map model from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Officials from the City of South Padre Island told KRGV they are prepared to clean up anything that washes up. Officials added that they remove sargassum when accumulations are high. However, they said they practice sustainable management techniques as sargassum is home to many juvenile fish, crabs, and shrimp that are food sources for many marine animals.
Sargassum is a brown seaweed that floats in large masses, according to NOAA. In open water, sargassum is mostly harmless and can have benefits. However, hundreds of tons can choke corals, wreak havoc on coastal ecosystems, and diminish water and air quality as it rots, according to NBC News.
When the blob of seaweed reaches the shore, another gas comes into play — hydrogen sulfide, according to Florida Health. This is produced as the seaweed rots and smells like rotten eggs. City officials in Florida and the Caribbean have been removing the algae as soon as it arrives on shore before it rots and smells, according to several reports.
If and when the seaweed washes ashore on Texas beaches, NOAA warns that people with respiratory issues like asthma could experience irritation.
