Beaches in Texas are known for a lot of things, and unfortunately sand on the shores isn't one of them, but this summer we can all expect something else to appear on the shores of the Lone Star State: seaweed.
A gigantic blob, weighing in at about 13-million tons, is floating towards Texas and is expected to make landfall during what experts will say, is the PEAK of summer tourism.
The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, as its known, stretches more than 5,000 miles, and for marine biologists is nothing more than a giant "nuisance."
Anna Armitage, a marine biology professor at Texas A&M University at Galveston, tells the Dallas Morning News, "It's a nuisance. Beachgoers won't like it, but it's only a temporary nuisance."
Once it washes ashore, the seaweed will likely blanket beaches in a "thick yellow-brown algae that emits a pungent smell as it decays." Sounds like a wonderful summer to us.
Currently, it's impossible to predict just how much seaweed will end up on our shores. Armitage says, "It's a dynamic situation. This isn't acting as one uniform body. Pieces break apart even as it continues to grow."
Experts also warn that though brief exposure to the seaweed not enough to make people sick, prolonged exposure, especially for those with respiratory issues.
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