A continent-long “brown ribbon” has appeared in the Atlantic off Africa — and scientists say it’s not a good sign

From Futura

Last May, satellites detected 37.5 million tons of pelagic sargassum, a species of brown seaweed, forming an unbroken band from the coast of West Africa to the Gulf of Mexico. This Atlantic Great Sargassum Belt simply did not exist 15 years ago. What was once confined to the Sargasso Sea – a warm but nutrient-poor region – has now expanded dramatically beyond its historic boundaries.

Once described as a ‘blue desert’, that area is no longer so empty. Sargassum has spread far beyond its original home, transforming from ecological curiosity into a large-scale environmental force.