Sargasso Sea

 

(särgăs'ō) , part of the N Atlantic Ocean, lying roughly between the West Indies and the Azores and from about lat. 20°N to lat. 35°N, in the horse latitudes. The relatively still sea is the center of a great swirl of ocean currents and is a rich field for the marine biologist. It is noted for the abundance of gulfweed (see seaweed) on its surface. The Bermuda islands are in the northwestern part of the sea.

The Sargasso Sea is an elongated region in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by ocean currents. On the west it is bounded by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current; on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial Current. It is roughly 700 statute miles wide and 2,000 statute miles long (1,100 km wide and 3,200 km long). It stretches from roughly 70 degrees west to 40 degrees west, and from 25 degrees north to 35 degrees north. Bermuda is near the western fringes of the sea. The Sargasso Sea is the only sea without shores.

The very salty Sargasso Sea is often regarded as being lifeless, though it is home to some seaweed of the genus Sargassum. This seaweed floats en masse on the surface there. The Sargasso Sea also plays a major role in the migration of the European eel and the American eel. The larvae of both species hatch there and go to Europe and/or the East Coast of North America. Later in life, they try to return to the Sargasso Sea to lay eggs. It is also believed that after hatching, young Loggerhead Sea Turtles use currents such as the Gulf Stream to travel to the Sargasso Sea where they use the Sargassum as cover from predation until they are mature.

Portuguese sailors were among the first to discover this region in the 15th century, although it may have been known to earlier mariners, as a poem by the late 4th century AD author Rufus Festus Avienus describes a portion of the Atlantic as being covered with seaweed. Christopher Columbus and his men also noted the Sargasso Sea, and brought reports of the masses of seaweed on the surface.

Due to its proximity to Bermuda (and being in the Bermuda Triangle), the sea is credited with some of the infamous disappearances there. That stigma is further enforced by the sometimes total lack of wind over the sea, and the possibility for modern engines to become entangled in the sargassum, stranding most vessels. Thus, it is sometimes called the "graveyard of ships."

The Sargasso Sea was the subject of a recent metagenomics effort called the Global Ocean Sampling (GOS) survey, by J. Craig Venter and others, to evaluate the diversity of microbial life there. The results have indicated that, unlike previously thought, the area has a wide variety of prokaryotic life.

See also

• Bermuda Triangle
• Global Ocean Sampling Expedition
• Eel life history
• Super-Sargasso Sea

External links

The Sargasso Sea is a favored region for scientific observation, exploration and research. The Sargasso Sea Ocean Observatory (S2O2) was formed in 2001 to coordinate these various efforts.

Coordinates: 28°20′08″N, 66°10′30″W

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