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South Florida’s beaches faced a sargassum assault this summer that some scientists believe is part of the largest spread of the nomadic marine weed on record, and one that could continue through September. From the Keys through the Treasure Coast, islands of the brown algae floating on berry-like bladders have stained beaches and sailed through inlets thick enough that one Palm Beach County lifeguard saw a black racer snake drift by on one large mat. In June, sargassum spread through 1,158 square miles of the Caribbean Sea. That’s three times the sargassum coverage during the same time in the record-high year of 2015. Click the link below to read the full article at the Palm Beach Post.  “We have altered the nitrogen cycle on our planet and it started with the invention of fertilizer,” Lapointe said. “We think this is what is behind the increased abundance of sargassum.”
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