A vast stretch of brown seaweed, known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt (GASB), is spreading across the Atlantic Ocean with alarming speed, now extending nearly 8,850 km from the west coast of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. Weighing an estimated 37.5 million tons, this massive floating mat of algae is so large that it can be clearly seen from space and it’s sparking concern among marine scientists globally.

First observed on a large scale in 2011, the Sargassum bloom has since expanded exponentially, doubling in size almost every year. Today, its width is comparable to that of North America, transforming what was once a localized ecological feature into a transoceanic environmental threat.

What i s Sargassum?

Sargassum is a type of floating brown algae traditionally limited to

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