[Coral-List] Sargassum fluitans proliferation in the Lesser Antilles

Alan.e.strong alan.e.strong at noaa.gov
Wed Aug 10 15:46:47 EDT 2011


...and why might it not be possible that the added influence from the 
Orinoco [and its nutrients] might have played a role here enhancing 
overall productivity?

Al

On 8/10/2011 2:08 PM, OMMM Association wrote:
> Sargassum species here (Sargassum fluitans probably) are actually
> pelagic sargassum that develop at the surface of the water and are not
> attached to the substratum. Those algae can bloom in case of critical
> amount of nutrient inputs, that might be the cause of the amount of
> algae we ahve today. Another reason might be the global change in the
> current systems along the Eastern Caribbean that was not as usual as
> reported by fishermen in the area. But we would be interested in looking
> at the history of this phenomenon as I started to observe large plates
> of sargassum by mid May all across the Lesser Antilles. At this time the
> algae was not accumulating along the coast of the islands.
>
> Jean-Philippe
>
> ****************************************************
> Dr Jean-Philippe Maréchal, DSci
> Director
> Observatoire du Milieu Marin Martiniquais
> 3 avenue Condorcet
> 97200 Fort de France
> Tel : +33 (5) 96 39 42 16
> http://www.ommm.org
>> Alan -
>> the Orinoco or the rivers are not the source of Sargassum; Sargassum,
>> when attached to the benthos, gorws in large beds in generally quite
>> clear water. A lot of it grows in the Caribbean, along the FL keys, etc.
>> Frank
>>
>>
>> ______________ FMK ______________
>> Frank Muller-Karger
>> Institute for Marine Remote Sensing (IMaRS)
>> College of Marine Science
>> University of South Florida
>> 140 7th Ave. South
>> St Petersburg, FL 33701
>>
>> Phones:
>>    (727) 553-3335 Office
>>    (727) 553-1186 Lab.
>>    (727) 553-1103 FAX
>> e-mail/www:
>> <<  carib at marine.usf.edu>>
>> <<  http://imars.marine.usf.edu>>
>> _________________________________
>>
>> On Wed, 10 Aug 2011, Alan.e.strong wrote:
>>
>>> Isn't this likely to have its origin from the Orinoco River's outflow
>>> into the area from Venezuela??
>>>
>>> Cheers,
>>> Al
>>>
>>> On 8/9/2011 12:30 PM, OMMM Association wrote:
>>>> Dear all
>>>>
>>>> Since May, 2011, a huge amount of pelagic sargassum piles up along the
>>>> coast of Martinique and Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles, and might
>>>> affect probably all the islands in the area.
>>>> Tons of algae enter the bays and cover the beaches. This
>>>> accumulation of
>>>> floating sargassum can also extends at the surface of the water for
>>>> tens
>>>> of meters in semi closed area, causing environmental problems to very
>>>> coastal communities.
>>>>
>>>> We have not seen any comments since this began in May. The algae still
>>>> accumulates and cause management problems for local authorities.
>>>> This is
>>>> also the marine turtles' nesting period, what has an incidence on local
>>>> decision to remove the algae accumulated on the beaches. Those algae
>>>> decomposed and toxic gaz might be produced, as H2S, which is quite low
>>>> from the measures that have been done at the moment (0-3 ppm).
>>>>
>>>> Is there any information we could share on the origin of this
>>>> proliferation of pelagic sargassum in the area?
>>>> Who else in the Lesser Antilles or elsewhere face the same problem?
>>>>
>>>> We do airplane survey and fly over the coastal area to detect piles of
>>>> sargassum away offshore looking at possible trajectories.
>>>>
>>>> We are interested in any satellite images that could detect those
>>>> saragssum.
>>>>
>>>> Thanks
>>>> Jean-Philippe Maréchal
>>>>
>>>> ****************************************************
>>>> Dr Jean-Philippe Maréchal, DSci
>>>> Director
>>>> Observatoire du Milieu Marin Martiniquais
>>>> 3 avenue Condorcet
>>>> 97200 Fort de France
>>>> Tel : +33 (5) 96 39 42 16
>>>> http://www.ommm.org
>>>>
>>>> GDRI "Coral Reef Biodiversity" - CNRS
>>>> Associate Director
>>>> http://www.gdri-corail.org
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> _______________________________________________
>>>> Coral-List mailing list
>>>> Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
>>>> http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
>>> -- 
>>> ****<><   *******<><   *******<><   *******<><   *******
>>> Alan E. Strong, Ph.D.
>>> NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Consultant
>>> Strong Research, Inc.&   IMSG
>>> National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
>>> NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program
>>>   e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov
>>> url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov
>>>
>>> E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5311      WWB, Room 601-8
>>> 1335 East West Hwy            5200 Auth Rd
>>> Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226  Camp Springs, MD
>>> 301-713-2857 x108             301-763-8102
>>>             Fax: 301-713-3136
>>> Cell: 410-490-6602
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>>
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-- 
****<><  *******<><  *******<><  *******<><  *******
Alan E. Strong, Ph.D.
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, Consultant
Strong Research, Inc.&  IMSG
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOAA Coral Reef Watch Program
  e-mail: Alan.E.Strong at noaa.gov
url: coralreefwatch.noaa.gov

E/RA31, SSMC1, Room 5311      WWB, Room 601-8
1335 East West Hwy            5200 Auth Rd
Silver Spring, MD 20910-3226  Camp Springs, MD
301-713-2857 x108             301-763-8102
            Fax: 301-713-3136
Cell: 410-490-6602





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