<--- Plastics within a raked beach
LITTER BOX VS. SAND BOX
Plastic utensil in a raked --> beach
WHAT IS WASHING IN DAILY
These sargassum 'events' are happening earlier and more often but note, sargassum in lesser amounts is very beneficial to a beach in that it layers with the sand and creates layers to enhance beach erosion.
DRIVING OVER PLASTICS, CREATING MORE PIECES, THEN 'RAKING' IT, ACTUALLY TILLING THE PLASTICS INTO THE SAND. THIS IS NOT A SOLUTION!
HEAVY EQUIPMENT SHOULD BE NO WHERE NEAR A BEACH ENVIRONMENT UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, ie extreme sargassum masses preventing hatchlings from getting to the ocean.
THE ACTION OF 'RAKING' A BEACH UPENDS THE NATURAL BEACH EROSION PROTECTION.
LEFT ALONE, SEAWEED AND SAND CREATES A NATURAL LAYERED SYSTEM TO BREAK WAVE ACTION = PROPERTY PROTECTION BY KEEPING SAND WHICH ELIMINATES HAVING TO ADD NEW SAND
A TRACTOR COMPRESSES AND CONDENSES THE BEACH SAND AS IT RAKES IT, LEAVING AIR POCKETS BETWEEN SAND GRANULES WHICH READILY ALLOWS OCEAN WAVES TO SEEP INTO THE AIR POCKETS AND SUCK OUT SAND.
SARGASSUM REALITY
Nutrient Overload: Increased human activity leads to excessive nutrient pollution (from fertilizers, sewage, and river runoff).
Sargassum Growth: These excess nutrients, specifically nitrogen (nitrates) and phosphorus (phosphates), along with rising ocean temperatures, fuel the massive growth of Sargassum seaweed, creating the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt.
Harmful Blooms: While Sargassum serves an important ecological role in the open ocean, when these massive blooms wash ashore (inundation events), their decomposition creates a range of negative environmental, economic, and public health impacts, including releasing toxic gases and creating low-oxygen "dead zones".