For months, Florida’s usually picturesque coast was plagued by a rotting tangle of seaweed, known as sargassum.
Scientists said they had expected the sargassum in the Gulf of Mexico to wane eventually — but not so fast, or by so much.
“That is a surprise,” said Chuanmin Hu, a professor of oceanography at the University of South Florida, noting that there was still “a lot of sargassum” in the Tropical Atlantic.
“The good news is the sargassum season for Florida is very likely over for this year.
Last month, the amount of sargassum in the Gulf of Mexico dropped by a staggering 75 percent, Dr. Hu and colleagues at the University of South Florida Optical Oceanography Lab noted in a bulletin published last week.
Persons:
Beachgoers, ”, Chuanmin Hu, it’s, . Hu
Organizations:
University of South, Oceanography
Locations:
Gulf, Mexico, University of South Florida, Florida, Eastern Caribbean