Sargasso Sea Research Paper

According to the World Book Christopher Columbus is accredited for being the first to document the Sargasso Sea in 1492 (World Book, 2016). Columbus and his men were caught on the calm waters of the Sargasso Sea surrounded by Sargassum. They worried because seaweed is typically found near shores. So, the sailors feared that they would soon crash into something in what they thought were shallow waters. However, there fears were for nothing except giving them the credit of starting early legends and myths about the Sargasso Sea.

In 1938 Irving Langmuir first explained the concept of windrow lines. Langmuir on his journey across the Atlantic Ocean in 1927 noticed that the floating seaweed in the Sargasso Sea was situated in parallel lines that

“The “hill” is about 2 meters high (6.5 feet). The “hill” is formed of converging surface water in the center of circulation and is formed by the combined forces of wind, Ekman Transport, and Coriolis deflection” (Garrison, 2010). The formation on the hill begins with the wind dragging along the surface layer of the ocean. Instead of the water moving along with the wind it moves to the right (in the northern hemisphere) due to the Coriolis effect. As the surface layer moves it causes the layer below to move to the right of the top layer as well. The movement of each subsequent layer is slower and more to the right and eventually loses energy. This movement is known as Ekman spiral. The sum of all the layers that make up the Ekman spiral at about 100-150 meters makes a “net motion of about 90 degrees to the right of the wind direction” and this is the Ekman Transport. As this transport pushes water to the center of the North Atlantic gyre some of the water moves inward in a clockwise motion (Garrison, 2010). This “hill” is maintained by wind energy. The “hill” in the Sargasso Sea also creates a pressure gradient. Water moves downward and to the right(west) of the pressure gradient. The hills slope progresses slowly and can go unnoticed, but thanks to satellite imaging this hill can be seen (Figure) (Brylske,

The Sargasso Seas water is calm, warm and high in salinity. According to the World Book that Sargasso Sea is consistent of a salt content of 3.7 percent (World Book, 2016). Its waters are a deep blue and clear. The waters of the Sargasso Sea are low in nutrient like most tropical water. However, the Sargasso Sea waters are abundant with Sargassum (figure). This Sargassum makes the Sargasso Sea unique and provides and ecosystem in the open water (Sargasso Sea Commission, 2011). According to the Sargasso Sea Commission, “the Sargasso Sea is the only area of significant Sargassum distribution where it grows in truly open ocean, thereby providing a rare form of valuable habitat in deep open water far from land” ((Sargasso Sea Commission, 2011). This habitat is home to many species who have adapted to living amongst the Sargassum (Figure) such as the Sargasso pipefish. The Sargassum is also a habitat for many other species such as an array of fish and even is a stopping point for European and American eels (Sargasso Sea Commission, 2011). The thousands of species that inhabit the Sargasso Sea or migrate to it are all interconnected and important to the sea and vice