[Coral-List] Sargassum/floating algae

Wed Aug 21 16:27:00 UTC 2019

Dear Coral List,

If there is further interest in learning about Dr. Chuanmin Hu's sargassum work, OCTO will be hosting a free webinar next week on the Sargassum Watch System. Information and link to register are below.

Webinar: Sargassum Watch System warns of incoming seaweed
Presented by: Chuanmin Hu of the University of South Florida
Date/Time: Tuesday, August 27, 1 pm US EDT/10 am US PDT/5 pm UTC
Description: The Sargassum Watch System (SaWS) uses satellite data and numerical models to detect and track pelagic Sargassum in near-real time. Sargassum is a pelagic seaweed that floats on the ocean surface and is abundant in the Intra-Americas Sea, the Atlantic, and along the coast of Europe. In the ocean, it provides an important habitat for many marine animals. On shore, it serves as fertilizer for sand dunes and biomass for food and fuel. Excessive amounts of Sargassum on beaches in populated areas can cause problems, however. Sargassum decomposition on beaches smells bad, attracts insects, smothers turtle nesting sites, and causes fish kills, in addition to diminishing tourism. Annual Sargassum inundation events are currently occurring annually along the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean coasts. SaWS monitors Sargassum distribution and abundance in the ocean to aid the study of ocean ecology, help fisheries management, and forecast Sargassum beaching events.
Co-sponsors: OCTO (OpenChannels, The Skimmer, MPA News, EBM Tools Network)
Register: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rpcnS14jRjOfqdmI0Ke3AA

Best wishes,
Sarah Carr

___________________________

Sarah D. Carr, Ph.D.
Editor, The Skimmer on Marine Ecosystems and Management (formerly MEAM)
E-mail: skimmer at octogroup.org
Website: meam.openchannels.org

-----Original Message-----
From: Coral-List <coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> On Behalf Of Ken Hamel via Coral-List
Sent: Wednesday, August 07, 2019 12:40 PM
To: Randy Clark - NOAA Federal <randy.clark at noaa.gov>
Cc: Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
Subject: Re: [Coral-List] Sargassum/floating algae

Randy,

I think the short answer is yes, there are folks at work on these things.
In reference to the mid-Atlantic *Sargassum* blooms, check out work by Chuanmin Hu and Mengqiu Wang at USF. They have published a number of papers on monitoring *Sargassum *and other macroalgae, e.g.

Wang M and Hu C. "On the continuity of quantifying floating algae of the Central West Atlantic between MODIS and VIIRS." International journal of remote sensing 39.12 (2018): 3852-3869.

They've also published a piece in *Science* month that has gotten huge media attention.

A recent dissertation by U Maryland’s Maureen Brooks has yielded two publications (so far) on modelling parameters influencing these same blooms:

Brooks MT, Coles VJ, Hood RR, & Gower JF (2018). Factors controlling the seasonal distribution of pelagic *Sargassum.* Marine Ecology Progress Series, 599, 1-18.

Brooks MT, Coles VJ, & Coles WC (2019). Inertia Influences Pelagic
*Sargassum* Advection and Distribution. Geophysical Research Letters.
46(5), 2610-2618

A recent review by Candace Oviatt (URI) el al might also be of interest to those participating in recent discussions on nutrient-coral dynamics on this listserv:

Oviatt CA, Huizenga K, Rogers CS & Miller WJ (2019). What nutrient sources support anomalous growth and the recent *Sargassum* mass stranding on Caribbean beaches? A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 145, 517-525

And in Asia, Hailong Zhang (at Nanjing) , Qianguo Xing (at Yantai) , and others have been developing methods for monitoring large scale ulvoid and *Sargassum
horneri* blooms, e.g.

Zhang  et al. "A simple and effective method for monitoring floating green macroalgae blooms: a case study in the Yellow Sea." Optics express 27.4
(2019): 4528-4548.

Xing et al. "Monitoring seaweed aquaculture in the Yellow Sea with multiple sensors for managing the disaster of macroalgal blooms." Remote Sensing of Environment 231 (2019): 111279.

When it comes to pelagic macroalgal blooms, almost all the work that has been published has been in this vein, i.e. monitoring, forecasting, oceanographic influences, and the like. Obviously, these are vital, but it would be nice to see some papers on impacts of the blooms, on species interactions, or on SES. There are plenty of newspaper articles speculating on these, but only a *very *few journal articles.

Cheers,
Ken Hamel
PhD Student
Department of Marine Affairs
University of Rhode Island
Kingston, RI 02881
808 748-1963
kenhamel at my.uri.edu

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On Wed, Aug 7, 2019 at 11:40 AM Randy Clark - NOAA Federal via Coral-List < coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov> wrote:

> Good afternoon!
>
> Curious to know if anyone has developed or thought about monitoring 
> protocols and development of core parameters for floating 
> macroalgae/Sargassum? Looking at this from a habitat perspective, but 
> any information will be useful.
>
> Thanks!
>
>
> Cheers,
> randy
>
>
> Randy Clark
> Marine Biologist
> NOAA NCCOS
> Marine Spatial Ecology Division, Biogeography Branch
> 1021 Balch Blvd, Suite 1003
> Stennis Space Center, MS 39529
>
> 228-688-3732
> https://coastalscience.noaa.gov
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