Florida Atlantic University researchers have conducted an extensive analysis of over 40 years of sargassum seaweed data, unveiling critical patterns behind the Atlantic Ocean’s recent surge in sargassum accumulation. Utilizing satellite imagery, oceanographic measurements, and historical records, the team identified key environmental drivers that contribute to the periodic mass blooms affecting coastal regions from West Africa to the Caribbean. Their findings illuminate how factors such as nutrient influx, ocean currents, and climate variability orchestrate these episodic proliferation events, which have significant ecological and economic impacts.

The study categorized surge events and correlated them…