[Coral-List] Sargassum fluitans in the Lesser Antilles
OMMM Association
ommm at wanadoo.fr
Thu Aug 11 12:47:02 EDT 2011
Dear all
With all the information being sent to the list, we'll be able to redraw
the massive arriving of Sargassum in the Lesser Antilles. Many satellite
products coupled with local observation and dates will help to
understand how these algae have reached the Lesser Antilles.
From what has been already sent, it seems that a combination of factors
could explain this phenomenon, as it is an unusual case - nobody has
seen that in Martinique and Guadeloupe ever - changes in current and
recent storms, nutrient inputs from the south Orinoco and Amazon rivers,
that might be detected through satellite image analysis.
Several suggestion have been made to optimise the image treatment and
the work is underway.
I would not talk about a proliferation, what is more related to invasive
species or eutrophication and coastal pollution, but more a massive
arrival along the coast driven by currents and storms. It might be
interesting to look at algae blooms with specialist like Brian Lapointe,
but we believe it is more a change in overall oceanographic conditions.
Increase in offshore biomass of Sargassum might be detected as described
in Gower & King 2011 paper.
Jean-Philippe
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