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Excess nitrogen turns sargassum into toxic algae infestation 1 minute read By Ivonne Malaver Miami, Jun 3 (EFE).- Sargassum, a seaweed vital for marine wildlife, is becoming toxic due to an excessive level of nitrogen and invading US beaches, a scientific report showed. Famous for their white sandy beaches, Florida and the Caribbean are slowly being infested by the toxic algae, creating a brown stream of smelly seaweed. The level of nitrogen has increased by 111% which is both “a big surprise” and “a big problem,” according to Florida Atlantic University professor Brian Lapointe. Th...

West Palm, Palm Beach, South Palm advised not to drink tap water after algae toxin discovered Carol Rose and Kimberly Miller, Palm Beach Daily News © Lannis Waters, (LANNIS WATERS / THE PALM BEACH Corey Robinson, with the City of West Palm Beach water distribution department, works with firefighters and workers with several other departments to hand out bottled water to residents at Gaines Park Saturday morning, May 29, 2021. The city issued an advisory that infants, young children and other vulnerable people in the city, as well as the towns of Palm Beach and South Palm, s...

Advisory is aimed at more vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and children.

Your bloated corpse a toxic wilderness, its brackish boundlessness a Sargassum in the Florida Keys (Image Credit: Brian Lapointe, Florida Atlantic University). This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that excess nitrogen has made sargassum the world’s largest harmful algal bloom. Sargassum is a genus of large brown seaweed (a type of algae) that floats in island-like masses and never attaches to the seafloor. Typically, sargassum blooms exist in low-nutrient waters off the coast of the North Atlantic, where they provide a vital nursery habitat for crabs, fish, sea turtles...

Where does the seaweed come from? "Gulfweed" or "sea holly," as it's sometimes called, originates in the Sargasso Sea. Currents push it south, then east, either into the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf Stream or the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf Stream carries it north, unless stronger east winds drive it onshore. The rest circles the Atlantic until it sinks and dies in the Sargasso Sea. Is there anything good about seaweed? In moderation, it has many environmental benefits, such as holding beach sand in place and providing food, fertilizer, hide-out habitat and nest-building materials for a vast...