The Bermuda Triangle is a mysterious area of the Atlantic Ocean, said to be the site of dozens of unexplained ship and plane disappearances. It is comprised of Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the island of Bermuda, and is believed to be between 1,300,000 to 3,900,000 square kilometers in size. The fear and mystery surrounding this patch of ocean may be related to the Sargasso Sea, an area of the Atlantic Ocean that the Bermuda Triangle overlaps with. This sea is known for its large amounts of Sargassum, a type of free-floating, yellow seaweed, which can form thick mats that can be a sailor’s worst nightmare. The Sargassum is unique in that it begins its life and reproduces on the high seas, unlike other seaweeds which do so on the seafloor. In 2011, a monstrous mass of Sargassum made its way across the Atlantic all the way to the coasts of West Africa, blocking fishing nets and preventing small fishing boats from traversing shallow waters, causing food shortages in small villages that depended on fish. Researchers think this shift may have been due to human activity, such as the use of synthetic fertilizers and sewage from urban areas, which add tons of nitrogen to our rivers. The use of synthetic fertilizers has increased by 800% since the 1960s. It is no surprise that nitrogen levels in Sargassum have increased in the past few years, with a 35% rise in nitrogen content. This increase is due to the extra input of nutrients from land, such as from agriculture and deforestation of the Amazon, as well as from extreme flooding of the river due to climate change. The floating Sargassum is then carried by ocean currents to colonize nutrient-rich waters, creating a dense web of golden tendrils. Additionally, smoke from burning vegetation in central and southern Africa is carried to the Atlantic by east to west winds, delivering nitrogen, phosphorus, and iron to the Sargassum.
This increase in Sargassum brings its own set of issues, such as trapping sea turtle hatchlings and creating dead zones due to the seaweed consuming all of the oxygen in the water. It is clear that our impact on the ecosystem is having a large effect on the growth of the Bermuda Triangle. Therefore, it is important to clean up our act in order to prevent further growth of the seaweed.
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We should all take a moment to appreciate Taylor Swift’s wisdom when she sang “It’s me, hi, I’m the problem, it’s me.”