The Sargasso Sea Lauren Seyler
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Transcript of The Sargasso Sea Lauren Seyler
The Sargasso SeaLauren Seyler
A Sea Without Shores• 1,100 km wide by 3,200 km long– 70°W to 40°W, 25°N to 35°N
• Bounded by currents:– West: Gulf Stream– North: North Atlantic Current– East: Canary Current– South: North Atlantic Equatorial Current– => North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre
• Depths of 1,500-7,000 m
Characteristics
• Separation from rest of Atlantic• Indigenous currents weak, mostly entropious– What goes in, won’t go out
• Plus: low ppt, high evaporation, light winds• = No mixing!• Warm, saline, nutrient-poor water
• Brown seaweed with small, berry-like bladders
• Travels with wind and current
• Not brought in by Gulf Stream
• Unique ecological niche• J. Craig Venter• 1800 species, 148
previously unknown bacterial phylotypes
Sargassum
Deadly Doldrums
• “Sea of Lost Ships”- contains Bermuda Triangle
• Dreaded by seafarers for centuries• Columbus’s crew feared seaweed• Not seaweed, but calms– “Horse Latitudes”
• Even today, airplanes and cargo ships lost– WHY?