Sargassum seaweed

A Florida team has turned a common cause of frustration for many beach-goers into a new food opportunity, after discovering that a common processed food ingredient can be extracted from the sargassum seaweed that at times plagues our beaches.

Massive piles of sargassum, the size of which have not been seen before, are floating this way, right now, sure to coat the beaches of Florida's East Coast, the Keys, and various Caribbean islands

You may know sargassum as the stinky algae that periodically washes ashore, but it's been an important breeding habitat for many marine species in the Atlantic.

Blooms of yellowish-brown seaweed along the Equator are breaking records and defiling beaches, while a centuries-old patch farther north is disappearing.

Current estimates suggest that there are around 37.5 million metric tons of sargassum involved in this latest bloom. Despite some of these alarming numbers, current predictions are iffy on how much of an issue sargassum will be for, say, Key Biscayne or Miami Beach.

A new report says that a record 38 million metric tons of sargassum piled up across the Caribbean and nearby areas in May, with more expected this month. It’s the biggest amount of algae spotted in the region since scientists began studying the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt in 2011.

Scientists at the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab are predicting what could be the state’s worst seaweed season.

A USF study found that vertical currents are likely behind the algae blooms that dump sargassum onto Florida beaches each year.

Tons of sargassum — seaweed — is floating far out in the Atlantic Ocean. It could begin coming ashore in the spring.

Researchers in Florida used satellite imagery and found exceptionally high amounts of sargassum seaweed in the Atlantic already. It will eventually drift toward the U.S.

Millions of tons of yellow-brown algae that have been swirling about in a region of the tropical Atlantic known as the Sargasso Sea are now breaking loose and landing on Florida shores

Last year’s sargassum bloom was so big it posed challenges on a hemispheric scale for marine ecosystems and coastal towns. The size of this upcoming summer’s fledgling bloom is setting records.