Underwater systems of biological marvel—the hydrodynamic bodies of turtles swerving water currents, school of fishes in conjoined movement like one big conscious body… Miami is a city that flourishes with diverse maritime wildlife. Although these precious forms of life that are associated with Miami have become a huge draw for hospitality jobs, they are currently under the threat of the immense floods of sargasso cluttering the bays for miles. However, with the diligent study of UM students aiming for sargassum to become biomatter as an alternative of generic carbon material used for screens in technological devices, there is a clear direction to a better outlook for how to manage the shores and impact the blow from sargasso; seeing it not as a problem, but the solution. 

At first, the expansive belt of sargassum was a mystery to scientists around the world. The great amassment of organic yellow—like blots of petroleum in the abyssal sea—started to catch the attention starting the 2010s, as seen in Modern Science's article: “First appearing in 2011, the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt is believed to have originated near the nutrient-rich mouth of the Amazon River, whose outflows contribute significantly to its development…” In a prior natural state of a mere 5000 pounds max of sargassum it is credible to being a great way for maritime creatures to have shelter and pockets of space to be safe from hazardous instances. They are the parallel of corals that way; except, they are the stalactites to stalagmites in the intricate cave system that is the ocean. However, an excessive amount of sargassum can make for the benefits to become tangible harm. Since the 80's, scientists have observed the data of how emissions have increased over the years.  For them, rafts that give marine life protection become a barren land of oxygen, trapping and asphyxiating life in the process. Data states that the emissions have risen to “a stunning 55” (Modern Science Team), a dangerous elevation in nitrogen emissions detrimental as it sounds—leaving the species of fish, amphipods and other marine life dependent on said sargassum suffering from the abundance. 

Due to the decay of sargassum, a higher accumulation of emissions will mean that it will trickle into several SDGS such as 11 and 6; meaning, problems with the economy and clean water for our communities. As quoted from the article Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean alter the trophic structure of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum, on page three, it covers the gist of how these emissions cause harm: “Sargassum mats produce hypoxia in near-shore coral reef communities… ammonium concentrations have been shown to cause faunal mortality in the Mexican Caribbean” Sargassum has not only an economical impact on industries that depend on the monetary, but as seen it affects the wildlife within these gems of carribean/mexican seas, threatening entire ecosystems to crumble from a disbalance in PH, density and issues of hypoxia. 

Nursing and feeding grounds, where life starts, are deeply affected as well. For instance, Miami has ecosystems that depend on the settlement of mangroves. However, due to the excess it can actually affect mangroves as well, leading to issues with development and life expectancy for marine life—at some point the lives of fish and other maritime creatures, often in their youth, need shelter and sustenance that mangroves offer. Furthermore, the immense excrements of warmth emanating from the pounds of biomass cause the embryos of turtles for instance to have detrimental problems.  Even downright genetic issues can be caused from the amalgamation of sargassum, as its “preliminary data suggest a cooling effect, which could result in the production of more male hatchlings since gender is temperature-dependent in this taxon” (Andrew S. Maurer, Emma De Neef, Seth Stapleton, p.7) Problems with the heat excess and the lack of sunlight can cause the species to suffer a drawback in the normal populations, causing a great danger to the future breeding and survival rates of species. 

As Miami's new generation of agents of change rise to the occasion, there has been an incredible effort to bring awareness and a tangible solution to the problem. UM's students have been conducting research to re-purpose the sargassum to innovative solutions—possibly the makeup matter for our TV's of the future. Yiming Xi, a Ph.D candidate, has been conducting research on how to turn sargassum into carbon dots through the process of aerosol and large amounts of heat at the celsius grade of 800*C. “During that superheating process, those droplets decompose, or pyrolyze, and form carbon dots at the nanoscale,” Peering into using sargassum as a resource, it is possible to find a way to re-purpose the pounds into the screens of the devices in homes; providing the alternative that is mindful ecologically, and carving the path for organic matter to become commercially used in a global scale. With a nod to the right direction, Miami can preserve its marine life and flora that is essential for the ecosystem to thrive—and for the likelihood of the thousands of people who depend on jobs that are brought by the biodiversity of Florida. Change is inevitable, but how an individual absorbs change and reflects it into action is key. Looking out into the paths few have treaded, remaining brave and dipping into uncharted waters deep as the coral constructs that barrier our bays, that is where change starts. 

Works Cited

Cabanillas-Terán N, Hernández-Arana HA, Ruiz-Zárate M, Vega-Zepeda A, Sanchez-Gonzalez A. 2019. Sargassum blooms in the Caribbean alter the trophic structure of the sea urchin Diadema antillarum. PeerJ 7:e7589 https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.7589

Andrew S Maurer, Emma De Neef, Seth Stapleton. Sargassum accumulation may spell trouble for nesting sea turtles. 1 September 2015. https://doi.org/10.1890/1540-9295-13.7.394

Modern Science Team. Review: Human pollution fuels record Sargassum seaweed blooms. 11 September 2015. http://modernsciences.org/sargassum-seaweed-bloom-pollution-september-2025/

Robert C. Jones Jr. From flatscreens to bioimaging: Putting sargassum seaweed to good use. 2 September 2025. https://share.google/Sj3EzidnNz66fRv6c