Researchers at the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab have reported that the massive, stinky seaweed bloom that was expected to hit Florida earlier this year has significantly decreased in size. According to the report for October, there was an estimated 150,000 metric tons of sargassum seaweed in the Caribbean Sea throughout the month, and much of it had dissipated by the end of October. There was also very little sargassum overall in the Gulf of Mexico, and nearly half of the sargassum in the Central Atlantic was situated west of the African coast.
Scientists believe minimal sargassum will be present in all regions in November. The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, a mass of seaweed stretching from Africa to the Gulf of Mexico, caused concern earlier this year when scientists were worried about its potential impact on Florida beaches. However, according to a recent report by researchers at USF’s Optical Oceanography Lab, these concerns are now alleviated as