[Coral-List] Sargassum fluitans proliferation in the Lesser Antilles
Quenton Dokken
qdokken at gulfmex.org
Thu Aug 11 11:50:35 EDT 2011
In the Gulf of Mexico, I was offshore at the Flower Garden Banks National
Marine Sanctuary in July and earlier this week. In July, Sargassum was seen
in floating mats moving toward the Texas coast as is normal during this time
of year. This week, no Sargassum was seen, but on Stetson Bank thick mats
of green filamentous algae covered much of the substrate. I've been diving
Stetson Bank for about 20 years and don't recall having ever seen algal mats
to this extent. It is possible that this unusual growth was due to nutrient
input from the spring floods draining through the Mississippi River. The
coastal States have been experiencing extreme droughts with no runoff so one
could speculate that added nutrients came from the mid-west. I do not know
of any studies to validate or disprove this possibility; but, algal blooms
do need nutrients.
Dr. Quenton Dokken, President/CEO
www.gulfmex.org
Mailing: PMB 51 5403 Everhart Rd.
Corpus Christi, TX 78411
Physical: 3833 South Staples Suite S214
Corpus Christi, TX 78411
O: 361-882-3939 F: 361-882-1262 C: 361-442-6064
-----Original Message-----
From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
[mailto:coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Frank
Muller-Karger
Sent: Thursday, August 11, 2011 10:20 AM
To: Alan.e.strong
Cc: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Sargassum fluitans proliferation in the Lesser
Antilles
Alan -
yes, this is possible.
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:
> ...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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>> _______________________________________________
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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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