Sargassum seaweed

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.

Potential pilot projects could explore converting sargassum into building material, types of “green” fuel and even an additive that could help reduce beach erosion.

A massive sargassum bloom inundated coastlines in Florida and the Caribbean earlier this year. Now, the University of South Florida is leading a $3.2 million grant to bridge a gap in tracking the algae from the open ocean to land.

Despite the good news, there has still been a profound increase in sargassum in the Atlantic, and thus Florida’s beaches, compared to the early years of the USF study.