When decomposing, the seaweed called sargassum lets out chemicals that smell like rotten eggs and pose risk for people with respiratory issues|Ria Tan|CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

A giant blob of seaweed is heading towards Florida and it’s twice the width of the continental US. The 10 tons of sargassum algae is worrying local communities about a possible tourism shutdown.

Local communities in the Gulf of Mexico are worried that enormous amounts of seaweed on shores will force them to close tourism during peak summer months.

How?
Once the seaweed washes ashore, it would rot and let out chemicals that smell like rotten eggs. These chemicals pose risk for people with respiratory problems.

Not only smell, but sargassum algae are also already piling up on Caribbean beaches. Barbados had to employ 1,600 dump trucks a day to clean it up.

Sargassum washing ashore is not new and they are, in fact, an important part of the sea ecosystem. It is the sheer size of it that is worrisome