It sounds like the stuff out of a horror film: a giant, blob-like blanket of seaweed that is so big it can be seen from outer space.
The over 8,000 kilometre-wide brown glob of seaweed, known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, is not new — but it is on the move and could potentially wreak havoc on beaches in Florida, Mexico and the Carribean this summer.
Scientists have claimed this year’s bloom of sargassum is the largest ever recorded. Read more: Killer whale seems to have adopted — or abducted — a pilot whale, surprising experts The sargassum currently floats between the Gulf of Mexico and the shores of West Africa.
In open waters, sargassum — which is a form of macroalgae — is mostly harmless and serves as reliable habitat for ocean life.