The tiny organisms that cause harmful blooms of algae can have a big impact on your trip to the shore. A toxicologist explains what causes these events and how to keep people and pets safe.
Sargassum seaweed started washing up in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in mid-March 2023.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Scientists are predicting a record sargassum bloom in 2023. It’s already starting to wash up on beaches in Florida and the Caribbean and cause a stink.
We can now monitor coastal changes across thousands of beaches over the last 40 years, from Australia, New Zealand and Japan, to Chile, Peru, Mexico and California. Here’s what our new tool uncovered.
Last summer was the worst for drownings in a decade, with some groups tragically overrepresented. Community groups are urging a change of approach to water safety education.
An olive ridley swims Into the wild blue yonder.
Gerard Soury/The Image Bank via Getty Images
Discerning whether that dark splodge in the water is a shark or just, say, seaweed isn’t always straightforward. In reasonable conditions, drone pilots get it right only 60% of the time.
Newly hatched loggerhead sea turtles (Caterra caretta) journey from their nest toward the ocean.
Omer Kundakci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Puerto Rico’s tourism industry is booming as nations lift COVID-19 travel restrictions, but development is displacing people who have lived along its coastlines for years.
Destroyed buildings along an eroded coastline in Bargny, Senegal.
Photo by John Wessels / AFP via Getty Images
As sea levels rise, this natural form of beach replenishment might be an important factor in offsetting some of the damaging effects of climate change on beaches.
As authorities grapple with the best way to respond to the tragedy, it’s worth remembering all shark mitigation measures come with both merits and drawbacks – and none is a silver bullet.