CONCERT, HISTORY AND DRONE SHOW LAUNCH KEYS’ BICENTENNIAL

Events Take Place In Key West On March 25

“The biggest thing is that if there is a lot of this material that comes into the shoreline, there should be recommendations that people aren’t swimming in that water,” said Bruckner.

Unfortunately, disposing of the piles of smelly sargassum when it washes ashore isn’t as simple as scooping it all up and using it for fertilizer.

With such a high arsenic content, the macroalgae can’t safely supplement any plant intended for human consumption.

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

Lapointe has studied sargassum since the 1980s, but he said that as he analyzed tissue from algae in the belt in more recent years, one nutrient in particular stood out.

“I was analyzing data from the 1980s that I collected. … In comparing the 1980s with post-2010 data, that’s where we see nitrogen levels going up 35%, and the nitrogen:phospate ratio went up by 111%. That was my eureka moment,” he told Keys Weekly. “This sargassum looks like it’s being fed by the major rivers like the Amazon, the Orinoco, the Congo and the Mississippi.

“It just so happens that the nitrogen and phosphorus contents are highest in the winter and spring, just when the rivers are discharging the most. … By summertime, those river discharges are actually going down, and that’s when the plants and their growth slows down as their tissues become depleted of nitrogen and phosphorus.”

Over the past 12 years, a formerly limiting nutrient to the growth and biomass of the belt ceased to be a handcuff, as human population growth fueled high reactive nitrogen levels with wastewater, fertilizers, deforestation and other contributors, Lapointe said. The belt is capable of doubling its size in anywhere from two to four weeks under ideal conditions, and with the algae continuing to exhaust the amount of available phosphorus, another critical nutrient, the macroalgae turn to a chemical analog: arsenate, a salt of arsenic acid.

Adding further fuel to the fire are rising sea temperatures.

“The winter temperatures are anywhere between two to six degrees higher than what we’d typically see at this time of year,” said Bruckner. “We’ve now shifted to an El Nino event … (and) because it’s already warmer than it should be this year, that could help fuel the growth.”

WHERE ARE WE NOW?

Researchers began actively tracking the size of the belt with multiple methods, including satellite imagery, during the first bloom in 2011. Since then, the 2018 bloom has been the record-setting standard, with 2022 as another severe event.

Thus far in 2023, the blob had an early start to its annual growth. But the final impact is yet to be seen. A sargassum outlook summary published by the University of South Florida’s Optical Oceanography Lab noted that “although the overall sargassum quantity in the central Atlantic Ocean decreased from January to February … this abundance (6.1 million tons) is still the second-highest amount recorded for the month of February.

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Florida Keys visitors and residents can celebrate the bicentennial of the subtropical island chain throughout 2023, starting with the “200 Years of Paradise Kick-off Concert” that includes a drone fireworks show on Saturday, March 25, in Key West.

The concert and other activities salute the 200th anniversary of the Florida legislature’s founding of Monroe County, which contains the entire Florida Keys, on July 3, 1823. From Key Largo to Key West, events in the coming months are to recognize the historic anniversary and recall the Keys’ two centuries of rich and vibrant history.

The festivities begin at 6 p.m. on March 25 at Key West’s Coffee Butler Amphitheater in Truman Waterfront Park with a program combining live music, Keys history presentations and drone “fireworks.” Gates open at 5 p.m. and admission is free.

Popular local musician Nick Norman will open the celebration, followed by a welcome and commentary by local leaders. At 7:15 p.m., regional trop-rock musician Howard Livingston will take the stage to perform his signature Keys-inspired tunes. Livingston’s sets will alternate with segments of South Florida PBS’ documentary, “The Florida Keys: 200 Years of Paradise,” that chronicles the dramatic history of the island chain.

A drone “fireworks” display will cap the evening’s attractions. Plans call for 250 drones to illuminate the sky over Truman Waterfront Park with imagery highlighting the Keys and their bicentennial.

“The Florida Keys that our visitors and residents experience today are built on our unique and intriguing history, and that’s what we’re celebrating with the kick-off event and throughout our bicentennial year,” said Craig Cates, mayor of Monroe County and a fifth-generation Keys resident. “We invite everyone who loves the Keys to join us in commemorating this milestone.”

Additional Events

Subsequent 200th anniversary celebrations include Naval Air Station Key West’s Southernmost Air Spectacular, an April 15-16 weekend air show starring the famed Blue Angels and honoring two centuries of the U.S. Navy’s presence in Key West; a sea-to-table dinner set for Saturday, June 10, in Islamorada highlighting the island chain’s local chefs, fishing captains, artists and coral restoration initiatives; and Bicentennial Day festivities and fireworks Monday, July 3, in the Lower Keys, featuring the creation of the world’s largest Key lime pie.

In addition, museum exhibits around the Keys, annual festivals and the Florida Keys Council of the Arts’ 300-canvas “Connections Project” mosaic mural are themed to celebrate the historic bicentennial and the Keys’ multifaceted heritage. More information is at fla-keys. com/keys200.

— Contributed