A sargassum bloom is no good news: A large mass of brown seaweed sargassum is extensively stretching across the Atlantic Ocean, ringing alarm bells over its harmful impact on climate and the pace at which it is blooming, The Guardian reported. The benign seaweed is known to harm coastal wildlife and fish and negatively impact necessary infrastructure like water and power supplies. It also causes multiple health issues including mild headaches or blackout. Researchers estimated the size of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt to be 24.2 mm tons last year — that’s nearly four times the weight of the Giza Pyramid.

But could the bloomin’ seaweed be useful? Researchers have been thinking of ways to dispose of the harmful brown seaweed, with some suggesting its potential benefit as a fertilizer and others seeing compost as one option, the news outlet reports. However, heavy metals in the contaminated biomass pose a further threat to the environment, with arsenic threatening its safe use around plants. Sargassum’s ability to act as a carbon sink has led some researchers to reach an ambitious plan of having robots capture the seaweed, bundle it and drop it to the bottom of the ocean.

OTHER STORIES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT THIS MORNING-

  • Norwegian hydrogen company Nel sold 108 mn shares in a private placement this week, earning the company USD 54.7 mn. Nel will use the funds to expand its plant in Norway or possibly establish a new one in the US. (Reuters)
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