The largest-ever mat of a thing called sargassum is headed west across the Atlantic toward Florida’s east-coast beaches.
Sargassum is the term for giant patches of floating algae that originate in the Atlantic then head west on currents toward Florida and the Caribbean.
Scientists say they are getting bigger every year – and now comes King of Sargassum, headed for Florida.
The algae mat is estimated to weigh 12 million tons, the biggest one marine researchers have ever seen.
Small sea creatures love to hide in it from predators when it’s floating in the ocean.
OK, so far so good.
But once it washes up on the beaches and begins to dry out and die it smells like rotting eggs.
So this summer when you step on a little bit of seaweed in Old Orchard Beach, thank your lucky starfishes.
It could be a lot worse if you were vacating in the tropics…
And You Thought The Seaweed On Maine’s Beaches Grossed You Out…
By Ted Cohen
