The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, an 8,000-kilometre-wide brown mass of blanketed seaweed, has reached a record-high volume for the month of March.
The historical levels of sargassum identified in March will cause “inevitable” major beaching events around the Caribbean, the ocean side of the Florida Keys and the east coast of Florida, researchers said.
The amount of sargassum floating in the east Caribbean will reportedly continue to grow as it migrates westward toward the Gulf of Mexico.
In open waters, sargassum is mostly harmless and serves as a reliable habitat for ocean life.
As sargassum piles up and rots on beaches in Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean, it releases toxic hydrogen sulphide into the air — a gas that smells of rotten eggs and may cause respiratory and neurological issues in humans.
The New York Times reported that sargassum growth is likely seasonal and has to do with the discharge of fertilizer runoff into major waterways in the Congo, Amazon and Mississippi rivers.
Removing sargassum from beaches requires ample manpower and can be costly.
Though some scientists have suggested using sargassum as fertilizer, this may be dangerous as sargassum contains arsenic, which could infiltrate the food chain.