OREANDA-NEWS Researchers from the United States of America have found that they provoke an abnormal growth of brown algae Sargasso, which have recently formed huge aggregations in the central part of the Atlantic Ocean. The blooming of the Sargassum algae has been triggered by the North Atlantic oscillation, as well as the appearance of nutrients from the Amazon in the ocean.

Sargassum is an algae growing in temperate latitudes and tropics. They mainly cover the bottom of shallow areas and coral reefs. However, some types of sargassum (for example, Sargassum fluitans and Sargassum natans) grow in the water column, and not at the bottom. Such algae are common, in particular, in the Sargasso Sea, which got its name because of them. 

Some time ago, marine biologists from the United States discovered large concentrations of Sargasso in the Atlantic. Algae itself do not pose a danger to marine ecosystems, but they are thrown onto the shore, where marine animals get stuck in them, which eventually die. Plus, decomposing algae produce fetid substances, and removing algae from the shore is too expensive.

Now, when scientists conducted a comprehensive analysis of the causes of the appearance of abnormal accumulations of algae, everything fell into place. It turned out that the Sargassians had grown due to the appearance of fertilizers in the ocean, which carry the waters of the Amazon into the Atlantic. Plus, a part played by the North Atlantic oscillation, mixing layers of ocean water.