CLEANING UP SARGASSUM SEAWEED BLOOMS
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AUGUST 2022 - Climate change is causing misery in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, with the Sargasso Sea producing colossal sargassum blooms of 22 millions tons this year, an increase over 18 million tons in 2021. It would take a fleet of 300 specially adapted SeaVax machines, operating at a speed of one load per hour, to deal with such quantities. Clearly, that is not going to happen, where the world would not pay to clean the ocean of plastic, using the same fleet. The only sparkle on the brown tinged horizon is that sargassum can be a cash crop. Even so, the sums being bandied about don't come close to managing this crisis.
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It's been at crisis levels for several years, but only recently have the Island nations affected by what amounts to a plague, put that stamp on the problem. Nations dependent on tourist dollars, have been hit with beaches of decomposing sargassum, smelling of rotten eggs, causing ecological mayhem. Hardly alluring for holiday makers, as they book their hotels in a paradise location.
It used to be oil spills. But as we transition from heavy diesel bunker fuels to renewable hydrogen gas, and H2 based compounds such as ammonia and methanol, oil spills from tankers will be a thing of the past.
OCEAN CLEANING DRONE - As seen above, SeaVax is not suitable for harvesting sargassum in voluminous quantities. But the concept may be adapted to the task. You'd still need autonomous fleet control, solar assistance and a capacious holding tank. But, the harvesting mechanics are different, as is the product transfer arrangement. Assuming 24 hour operation, and factory ships to treat the recovered asset, for distribution across the globe.
It would take a fleet of 300 specially adapted SeaVax machines, operating at a speed of one load per hour, to deal with such quantities. Clearly, that is not going to happen, where - as an example - the world would not pay to clean the ocean of plastic, using a similar fleet. The only sparkle on the brown tinged horizon is that sargassum can be a cash crop. Even so, the sums being bandied about to entice entrepreneurs, don't come close to managing this crisis. What they need is a miracle, dealing with the root cause, which is warming of the oceans from climate change. What is for sure, you cannot use fossil fuels to power such ocean cleaning endeavours - being totally counterproductive.
With an efficient method of harvesting the macro-algae, there is potential to turn a nuisance into opportunity. Managed effectively, it may be possible to reduce the negative impact of sargassum and even benefit from this environmental nuisance.
The
Cleaner Ocean Foundation is willing to collaborate with any Student, University
or other Organization - in the development of a workable solution -as befits the
scale of the problem. We would suggest as a first stage, that a study in
economics might be appropriate, to decide if the development of a SeaVax like
vessel might be appropriate.
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SeaVax-Calypso™ & AmphiMax-Calypso™ SeaVax-Sargasso™ & AmphiMax-Sargasso™
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UNEP - UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME
While 2020 was relatively mild in terms of sargassum volumes, and a global pandemic became the overarching worry, 2018 was record breaking in terms of sargassum volumes reaching Caribbean shores and 2019 was also significant.
Floating sargassum should not be construed as negative in and of itself – it is beneficial at sea, mainly as a unique pelagic habitat. However, the mass stranding of sargassum on coastlines has significant negative
impacts (biophysical and socio-economic), particularly on coastal communities and
livelihoods, public health, tourism and fisheries. This issue therefore represents an
The production of hydrogen sulphide negatively impacts air quality, results in very unpleasant odours, and prolonged exposure is unhealthy, especially for persons with underlying respiratory conditions. This is detrimental for coastal residents and beach users, whether local or visitors. Beach users who live elsewhere have the option to avoid impacted locations, while residents may be unable to avoid prolonged exposure.
Large quantities of sargassum also spoil the aesthetic appeal of Caribbean beaches, and inhibit access to nearshore waters. Both issues affect residents, local beach users and tourists, while the latter particularly impacts those whose livelihoods rely on the sea, such as fishers who may need to access the water to access their equipment and/or livelihood.
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CARIBBEAN ISLANDS BY POPULATION
1 Cuba 11,252,999 29 Tortuga 25,936 30 Roatán 110,000
Governments might revise their policies, to most urgently curb global warming, hence ocean temperature rises that are causing the sargassum crisis. The is the root cause of the problem. Cleaning up the excess from the oceans and seas, is retrospective handling. That, unfortunately, it seems we will be lumbered with for at least 50 years hence. But if we don't do something urgently, there may be no way of stopping mass extinctions.
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BIOMASS - BUILDING MATERIALS - CANCER - CLOTHING & SHOES - CO2 SEQUESTRATION - COSMETICS FERTILIZERS - FOODS - MEDICINES - MINERALS - PACKAGING - SUPPLEMENTS - VITAMINS
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