Sargassum and Ocean Warming
🕑 Added 2021-08-27 19:15:20 +0000 UTCDo you remember the other day when I was talking about all of the Sargassum that is accumulating in the ocean and on the beaches since our last big storm? We decided to go take a look today and see if there was more visibility and if the Sargassum had died down yet. Upon driving up to the beach, the water looked clear enough. As we emptied our snorkel gear from the car, trekked through the sand past the cows and the beautiful palm trees towards where the hot sand meets the cool water. Interestingly enough, what I noticed is that the water was not cool. In fact, it seemed much warmer than it normally is. Now, it’s been a month since I have been able to get in the water because of work and life but I’m pretty sure that the last time I got in it was quite a bit cooler, especially this early in the morning. This struck me as funny. One of the issues with Sargassum is that it’s dark in color so it attracts the sun's rays, those rays heat up the water. Could I be feeling the heat from the sargassum or is it from something else? I mean, it still covers the ocean floor in copious amounts. You can see it in a couple of these photos from this morning's swim. I’m not positive if the warming is from the excessive sargassum or something else but it begs the question, What happens when the ocean gets too warm? Here’s a great article about that very question.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/critical-issues-sea-temperature-rise
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Jose Rivera
A mermaid
