Sargassum

seaweed · ocean · tropical

Floating Golden Mats. Sargassum is a type of brown seaweed that can stretch for kilometers across the ocean surface, creating giant floating islands of golden brown plant material that drift with currents and wind.

Named After Its Home. The Sargasso Sea, a region of the Atlantic Ocean, was named because it contains huge amounts of Sargassum. Scientists even named a new hotspot called the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt (GASB) that stretches from western Africa to the Caribbean.

Tropical Ocean Plant. Sargassum grows mainly in warm tropical and subtropical areas around the world, making it a seaweed that loves the heat.

Caribbean Problem. In recent years, enormous quantities of Sargassum have been washing up on Caribbean beaches, which scientists track using satellites to understand these sudden arrivals.