ALERT ALERT for southeast Florida, Keys, Caribbean, Cancun, Brazil, etc. travelers. Sargassum seaweed has increased by millions of tons this year.

[andre10056]

"this year’s sargassum bloom has already broken its own size record by millions of tons"

https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/15/climate/seaweed-bloom-florida-atlantic-ocean-climate

 

[andre10056]

From the above article:

"In April, the University of South Florida estimated this year’s bloom is already at 31 million tons — “40% more” than the previous record from June 2022"

 

[andre10056]

So what was the prior record if the new tonnage is ballpark 31 million tons and that is an increase of 40% from the prior record?

Algebraically:

(31-x) / x = .4 We're trying to find "x" which is the prior record

equals: 31 - x = .4x

equals: 31 = 1.4x

equals: x = 31 / 1.4

equals: 22.14

Wow. The past all-time record was ballpark 22 million tons and this year's bloom is ballpark 31 million tons? That's an increase of ballpark 9 million tons from the prior all-time record! If a sizable percentage of that does indeed hit our shores, I wouldn't want to be traveling in southeast Florida or the Keys.

 

[amycurl]

I was told there would be no. math.

 

[PamMo]

We’ve been in Cancun when the shoreline was covered in huge mats of seaweed, and it’s not something I want to do again. Some people walked through the stinking mess to swim beyond the seaweed. No way would I do that!

 

[callwill]

I was told there would be no. math.

OK so we will talk mass....

 

[klpca]

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I saw this the other day (I don't think that you need to be logged in). This post was from Belize. What a mess!

 

[JohnnyO]

Anyone heard how it affects the Cayman Islands?

 

[emeryjre]

So what was the prior record if the new tonnage is ballpark 31 million tons and that is an increase of 40% from the prior record?

Algebraically:

(31-x) / x = .4 We're trying to find "x" which is the prior record

equals: 31 - x = .4x

equals: 31 = 1.4x

equals: x = 31 / 1.4

equals: 22.14

Wow. The past all-time record was ballpark 22 million tons and this year's bloom is ballpark 31 million tons? That's an increase of ballpark 9 million tons from the prior all-time record! If a sizable percentage of that does indeed hit our shores, I wouldn't want to be traveling in southeast Florida or the Keys.

It has been years since I solved for X

I understand how you got from
(31-x)/x = .4 You multiply both sides by x
To
31-x = .4x What did you do to get
To
31 = 1.4x My hard drive must have developed a blip in this area because I cannot figure out how you did this

Thanks

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

We’ve been in Cancun when the shoreline was covered in huge mats of seaweed, and it’s not something I want to do again. Some people walked through the stinking mess to swim beyond the seaweed. No way would I do that!

That's a good reason to use a swimming pool instead.........











.

 

[easyrider]

Interesting is the Villa del Palmar in north of Cancun in Punta Sam doesn't get too much sagassum. Isla Mujures kind of blocks it. Even so, they do use a beach clean up machine to keep the beach clean.

Bill

 

[andre10056]

It has been years since I solved for X

I understand how you got from
(31-x)/x = .4 You multiply both sides by x
To
31-x = .4x What did you do to get
To
31 = 1.4x My hard drive must have developed a blip in this area because I cannot figure out how you did this

Thanks

Hi emeryjre,

To get from 31 - x = .4x to 31 = 1.4x, you have to add an "x" to both sides.

But how do you add an "x" to a .4x? It's not at all obvious judging from the questions I heard from undergraduate math students with whom I shared a class as a senior student (all over the country, seniors are attending classes for free at universities that have programs for them to do so). It would be more obvious if it were 2x or 3x. 2x plus .4x = 2.4x. 3x plus .4x = 3.4x. But what about if it's just "x"?

That single x happens to be 1x. And then it's more evident what should be done with it.

 

[andre10056]

Unfortunately, many people think that the sargassum seaweed might be beneficial to marine life, etc. "Turtles can lay their eggs in it. Baby fish can be sheltered from predators in it."

That may have been the case for hundreds of years past. But this quantity of sargassum seaweed is dangerous for not only marine life but also humans. As to humans, longer term exposure to sufficient quantities of rotting sargassum seaweed may very well result in a trip to the emergency ward.

2024 Sargassum Is Rotting And Choking The Caribbean’s White Sand Beaches, Fueling An Economic And Public Health Crisis

"The sargassum invasion has worsened since it exploded in the region in 2011. Forecasts and the seaweed already washing up suggest that 2024 will be another alarming year," says Farah Nibbs, assistant professor of emergency and disaster health systems at UMBC, studies the intersection of...

umbc.edu

Sargassum Inundation Events (SIEs): Impacts on Human Health | US EPA

Sargassum Inundation Events (SIEs): Impacts on Human Health

www.epa.gov

You can find numerous articles on this subject matter by simply searching for "dangers of sargassum seaweed".

 

[emeryjre]

Hi emeryjre,

To get from 31 - x = .4x to 31 = 1.4x, you have to add an "x" to both sides.

But how do you add an "x" to a .4x? It's not at all obvious judging from the questions I heard from undergraduate math students with whom I shared a class as a senior student (all over the country, seniors are attending classes for free at universities that have programs for them to do so). It would be more obvious if it were 2x or 3x. 2x plus .4x = 2.4x. 3x plus .4x = 3.4x. But what about if it's just "x"?

That single x happens to be 1x. And then it's more evident what should be done with it.

Thanks
That clears up the nagging issue in my brain
There are multiple software programs I have used over the years to do this
Nice to dust off a few brain cells and do it manually

 

[callwill]

It has been years since I solved for X

I understand how you got from
(31-x)/x = .4 You multiply both sides by x
To
31-x = .4x What did you do to get
To
31 = 1.4x My hard drive must have developed a blip in this area because I cannot figure out how you did this

Thanks

It might be easier to solve for twitter....

 

[JohnnyO]

Anyone heard how it affects the Cayman Islands?

We are in Grand Cayman East End and the sargassum is nasty. We’ve gone around the island airport, south, east to north and it’s bad there too. Have not gone to 7 mile beach or west end as that’s later in the trip. They say it’s the worst they’ve had it since 2015. They make a valiant effort to clean the beach but they can’t clean the stench. One gets used to it as long as the breeze is constant. And one has to be very careful and selective to find a clear path to go swimming in the outer cleaner water. Otherwise one has to swim though the soup at the shore line and it’s terrible.

 

[ncaahockeyfan]

That's a super bummer!

We considered a couple of last minute exchanges for July/Aug in Fort Lauderdale/West Palm Beach, but decided against it.

Anyone know whether the Marco Island and Fort Myers Beach area is currently affected?

 

[emeryjre]

There are several websites keeping track of the beaches for sargassum

I have checked them occasionally in the last 3 weeks

They are paid for by adds, generally tourism related

I am pointing this one out,

Do not take it as a recommendation from me

Update: The site has a great front page, but none of the links are working

Home - Sargassum Tracker®️ - #1 Sargassum Resource. Forecast. Map

Latest update on sargassum seaweed 2025 map, Sargassum Tracker, Sargassum Monitoring, sargassum season Cancun Mexico, Florida, Virgin Island

www.sargassum-seaweed.com

 

[moonstone]

A friend in Belize, where it's really bad along the eastern coastal areas of the islands and mainland, posted this map on her FB page. https://sargassummonitoring.com/en/map-of-sargassum-from-usf-saws/
This was in Placencia Belize today with lots of townsfolk and visitors helping to rake it up into piles that others loaded into wheelbarrows or ATV trailers to dump in an inland field. Luckily where we stay in Corozal there is very little as the area in in a long bay that is protected by the land mass where Ambergris Cay (San Pedro) is located.

~Diane

 

[moonstone]

Anyone know whether the Marco Island and Fort Myers Beach area is currently affected?

Usually sargassum affects east facing costal areas. There really isnt much of it in Florida compared to Mexico and points south. Our DS who lives in the Tampa area was down in Sarasota today and said the beaches there are totally clear.

~Diane

 

[andre10056]

Strangely, there don't appear to be many websites that clearly show the extent of the problem. Maybe this NOAA site. Scroll down to see "Gulf of America" or "Greater Antilles" (which I assume is where the Cayman Islands are...perhaps one of the two red dots NW of Jamaica and South of Cuba) or whatever.

It looks like Key West is yellow (medium) while all of the rest of Florida is light blue (low). People who have recently been in Key West say it's a disaster area right now...so if that's "medium", I sure as heck wouldn't want to be where it's red. Nor does it give me confidence that all of the light blue areas are really "low".

CoastWatch Caribbean and Gulf of America Regional Node - Experimental Weekly Sargassum Inundation Risk (SIR v1.3)

 

[WinniWoman]

We are in Grand Cayman East End and the sargassum is nasty. We’ve gone around the island airport, south, east to north and it’s bad there too. Have not gone to 7 mile beach or west end as that’s later in the trip. They say it’s the worst they’ve had it since 2015. They make a valiant effort to clean the beach but they can’t clean the stench. One gets used to it as long as the breeze is constant. And one has to be very careful and selective to find a clear path to go swimming in the outer cleaner water. Otherwise one has to swim though the soup at the shore line and it’s terrible.

Wow! I can’t even imagine in the beautiful Caymans. Ugh!

 

[Maple_Leaf]

There's a lot happening out in that Sargasso Sea.

 

[JohnnyO]

Morritt’s did a good job of keeping the piles off the beach. But nothing they could do about the water nor the stench from piles of it right next door. I tried to post more pics but sometimes tug is fickle. Maybe later.

 

[Superchief]

View attachment 113313
Morritt’s did a good job of keeping the piles off the beach. But nothing they could do about the water nor the stench from piles of it right next door. I tried to post more pics but sometimes tug is fickle. Maybe later.

I see the lounge pirates were already at work.