photos Sea-Water Amplification (SWA) Lajes do Pico, Ilha do Pico, Azores, Atlantic Ocean 2024

We have just published a short text on the increased incidence of Sargasso algae in the Azores.

These days, large amounts of washed-up Sargasso seaweed appear in the Azores, which is reportedly quite unusual in the winter months, as Sargasso tends to decline in the winter and autumn months. This type of seaweed is specific to the latitudes of the tropical Atlantic. In its traditional environment, Sargasso is a great ecological asset. However, the spread of biomass in the (tropical) Atlantic has confirmed the old adage that too many good things can be bad.

  photos Sea-Water Amplification (SWA) Lajes do Pico, Ilha do Pico, Azores, Atlantic Ocean 2024

Clusters of floating seaweed are often concentrated by extremely strong winds and waves associated with the Gulf Stream, which carry them further across the Atlantic Ocean beyond their normal trajectories.

You can read more here: Sargasso seaweed in the Azores in the winter months