The Sargassum Arrives!

15 million tons/5 miles wide

Mh2>A 15 million-ton, 5,000-mile-wide patch of seaweed known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is making landfall throughout the southern Atlantic and Caribbean coasts, disrupting vacations and marine activities as it collects and rots along the shore. An annual open-sea phenomenon, this year’s crop is the largest on record (see map) and is expected to inundate shorelines for months.