In 1942, the sailboat Nina led by Columbus was in a windless sea and saw an "oasis" not far away. At that time, the crew were ecstatic and thought they were approaching land, but they did not expect it. Unfortunately, this sea almost made it impossible for them to leave.
The "Sea of Grasslands" put the fleet in deep trouble
After Columbus's fleet approached the oasis, they discovered that the lush grassland they had just looked at from a distance was actually just Sargassum growing on the sea. It turned out that they came to the "grassland on the ocean" that Aristotle mentioned more than two thousand years ago, that is, the Sargasso Sea.
Although everyone's expectations were disappointed, the vast seaweed in this sea area also showed the different beauty of the ocean, especially the crystal clear water is even more beautiful under the sun, which can not help but relieve everyone's long voyage of tiredness.
But what no one expected was that these overly dense sargassum not only slowed down their sailing speed, but in the end they felt as if they were stuck in a quagmire, unable to move.
What makes people even more desperate is that this clear water looks shallow, but in fact it is completely impossible to reach the bottom. This news brings the crew no longer the beauty of the sea, but panic.
Columbus wrote in his voyage diary: "...the water depth measuring device on the ship cannot reach the bottom of the sea, which shows that we are still far from the coast."
In the atmosphere of spreading despair, the crew had no choice but to use the bamboo poles and wooden poles in their hands. It took me three weeks of rowing and rowing to finally get rid of the tangle of sargassum.
Why is it difficult for the fleet to escape the "cemetery at sea"
But why can this sea area without any wind and waves easily trap the fleet?
First of all, the dense algae on the sea is the most critical reason for trapping the fleet. As we all know, seaweed has a strong adsorption force. If a ship passes by an area where seaweed breeds, the seaweed will adhere to the bottom of the ship and the propeller with the water flow. In this way, a large amount of sargassum will not only block the way of the ship. , and at the same time, like pliers, it holds the ship tightly in place, which adds a huge burden to the ship, so it is not easy to drive the ship forward.
Secondly, there is no wind all year round in the Sargasso Sea. During the time of Columbus's voyage, sailing ships were only used to rely on wind and ocean currents. There were no large power devices on the ships. Once the ship entered the dense Sargasso seaweed, the sailing ships were naturally "at their wits' end." , in a place like the "Dead Sea", if you want to get out, you can only rely on manual rowing.
However, these situations are not the only thing that is even more desperate. People also found that there are almost no signs of fish, shrimp and other creatures in the Sargasso Sea. This means that the fleet trapped here cannot obtain supplies locally. If you can't find a way out until the dry food is exhausted, you can only wait to die.
One of the reasons why Columbus's fleet was able to break the curse of this sea and escape was that they prepared enough food and water. Otherwise, after three weeks, the ending of the story might be completely different.
Of course, the above reasons not only brought huge psychological pressure to the people on the ship, but also the people at that time had limited knowledge of physical geography . Various unseen scenes were easily reminiscent of some ghosts and myths. Once the inner fear spreads, it will be even more difficult to escape from the sea.
During World War II, British Major Ozmin was also trapped in the Sargasso Sea. At that time, there were still ruined shipwrecks floating around, and the environment was extremely poor. If he wanted to get out, he had to fight against the seaweed to prevent them from flooding the deck. With perseverance, he managed to escape after an exhausting struggle. But not everyone has the same tenacity as him, and the losers have become bones under this sea.
It is a "sea grassland" and a "sea desert"
The Sargasso Sea is called the "Sea of Grasslands" because countless sargassum grows on this sea. From a distance, it looks like a grassland. But while it appears to be rich in vegetation, it is also known as a "maritime desert."
It is well known that seaweed grows more abundantly in areas where the warm and nutritious coastal currents meet the cold ocean currents. Among them, nutrients such as phosphate and ammonia excreted by fish can provide organic nutrients for the growth of algae , and seaweed can also provide habitat for fish, so that they can form a symbiosis of mutual help. relation.
But the Sargasso Sea has a special geographical location, being at the center of the northern Atlantic circulation. Under the combined influence of the Gulf Stream in the west, the North Atlantic Warm Current in the north, the Canary Cold Current in the east, and the North Equatorial Warm Current in the south, the Sargasso Sea flows slowly in a clockwise direction. Therefore, here The water in the sea is warm and seems unusually calm.
But it is precisely because the seawater in the Sargasso Sea is very stable that the surface seawater is almost mixed with the seawater in the middle and deep layers. As a result, the nutrients produced by Sargassum and other plankton in the shallow water layer cannot be renewed, and the plankton cannot be renewed. Organisms cannot reproduce vigorously on the surface of Sargassum. Fish and sea animals that feed on plankton will naturally not survive here, so this place gives people a lifeless and desolate feeling, like a desert on the sea.
However, Sargassum grew in this nutrient-poor seawater. Due to the weak sea surface flow, they did not have to worry about water loss, so they gradually formed a vast and attractive "sea grassland" in this area.
Under this dense seaweed, there are actually some fish that can perfectly integrate into the seaweed, such as sargassum fish, flying fish , swordfish , marlin , etc. Most of them use seaweed as their host. They are good at camouflage and color change, and can dress themselves up to look like seaweed, so they are rarely discovered.
Under modern technology, Sargasso is no longer the incarnation of death
In an era with limited technological development and people's lack of understanding of nature, many people think that the Sargasso Sea is " Ship Grave” and Sargasso is the personification of Death.
But now the ships plying the sea have strong power and steel structures that are far beyond the sailboats of the past. It no longer takes three weeks or is exhausting to cross the Sargasso Sea. Without the threat of death, people's attention has naturally changed.
Unexpected effects of Sargassum
Marine ecology experts have discovered that insects and water accumulated on Sargassum can release an extremely ugly compound that can deter predators with its odor and also It can absorb both UV-A and UV-B ultraviolet radiation (most sunscreen products on the market can only protect against UV-B rays). In other words, this compound is actually a natural light-blocking barrier that can protect water and insects from prolonged sunlight. This means that experts may rely on this substance to develop protective agents against malignant skin cancer in the future. .
In addition, experts have found that dead Sargassum contains a large amount of heavy metals, which means that Sargassum can absorb a large amount of toxic heavy metals, such as anchors, cadmium, copper, uranium, zinc, etc. This is why the Sargasso Sea is crystal clear. end. The accumulation process of metals in Sargassum makes Sargassum act like a natural ion exchanger.
Sargassum is rich in calcium ions . When the heavy metals in the dissolved state overcome the sargassum, the toxic metal ions will snatch the calcium ions from their original position and drive the calcium ions out of the house, thereby "taking up the mountain as a mountain". king". What’s even more interesting is that when the metals infiltrated into the seaweed reach a saturated state, more than 80% of them can be reused after being soaked and cleaned with an acidic solution! This shows that Sargassum can be used not only to purify sea areas contaminated by heavy metals, but also to extract and produce metals.
With the continuous development and progress of science and technology, I believe that humans can get more inspiration or methods to solve current problems from Sargassum. I believe that in the near future, the name "Oasis on the Sea" will not only be used to describe this piece of Sargassum on the sea. The lushness of algae is also used to praise the abundant resources it provides to humans.
Reference article:
Ma Shoucheng. The sea without coasts—Sargasso Sea [J]. Friends of Science (early). 2010, (04)
Gao Yan. The magical Sargasso Sea [J]. Nature exploration .2005,(03)
Xiaofu. The mysterious maritime prairie[J]. Navigation.2002,(02)
Xu Xin. The "sea oasis" once considered a "desert" - the secret of the Sargasso Sea[ J]. Foreign Science and Technology Trends. 2002, (05)
Zheng Lili. "Green Cemetery" on the ocean - Sargasso Sea. [D]. Fujian: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University , 2010
It is well known that seaweed grows more abundantly in areas where the warm and nutritious coastal currents meet the cold ocean currents. Among them, nutrients such as phosphate and ammonia excreted by fish can provide organic nutrients for the growth of algae , and seaweed can also provide habitat for fish, so that they can form a symbiosis of mutual help. relation.
But the Sargasso Sea has a special geographical location, being at the center of the northern Atlantic circulation. Under the combined influence of the Gulf Stream in the west, the North Atlantic Warm Current in the north, the Canary Cold Current in the east, and the North Equatorial Warm Current in the south, the Sargasso Sea flows slowly in a clockwise direction. Therefore, here The water in the sea is warm and seems unusually calm.
But it is precisely because the seawater in the Sargasso Sea is very stable that the surface seawater is almost mixed with the seawater in the middle and deep layers. As a result, the nutrients produced by Sargassum and other plankton in the shallow water layer cannot be renewed, and the plankton cannot be renewed. Organisms cannot reproduce vigorously on the surface of Sargassum. Fish and sea animals that feed on plankton will naturally not survive here, so this place gives people a lifeless and desolate feeling, like a desert on the sea.
However, Sargassum grew in this nutrient-poor seawater. Due to the weak sea surface flow, they did not have to worry about water loss, so they gradually formed a vast and attractive "sea grassland" in this area.
Under this dense seaweed, there are actually some fish that can perfectly integrate into the seaweed, such as sargassum fish, flying fish , swordfish , marlin , etc. Most of them use seaweed as their host. They are good at camouflage and color change, and can dress themselves up to look like seaweed, so they are rarely discovered.
Under modern technology, Sargasso is no longer the incarnation of death
In an era with limited technological development and people's lack of understanding of nature, many people think that the Sargasso Sea is " Ship Grave” and Sargasso is the personification of Death.
But now the ships plying the sea have strong power and steel structures that are far beyond the sailboats of the past. It no longer takes three weeks or is exhausting to cross the Sargasso Sea. Without the threat of death, people's attention has naturally changed.
Unexpected effects of Sargassum
Marine ecology experts have discovered that insects and water accumulated on Sargassum can release an extremely ugly compound that can deter predators with its odor and also It can absorb both UV-A and UV-B ultraviolet radiation (most sunscreen products on the market can only protect against UV-B rays). In other words, this compound is actually a natural light-blocking barrier that can protect water and insects from prolonged sunlight. This means that experts may rely on this substance to develop protective agents against malignant skin cancer in the future. .
In addition, experts have found that dead Sargassum contains a large amount of heavy metals, which means that Sargassum can absorb a large amount of toxic heavy metals, such as anchors, cadmium, copper, uranium, zinc, etc. This is why the Sargasso Sea is crystal clear. end. The accumulation process of metals in Sargassum makes Sargassum act like a natural ion exchanger.
Sargassum is rich in calcium ions . When the heavy metals in the dissolved state overcome the sargassum, the toxic metal ions will snatch the calcium ions from their original position and drive the calcium ions out of the house, thereby "taking up the mountain as a mountain". king". What’s even more interesting is that when the metals infiltrated into the seaweed reach a saturated state, more than 80% of them can be reused after being soaked and cleaned with an acidic solution! This shows that Sargassum can be used not only to purify sea areas contaminated by heavy metals, but also to extract and produce metals.
With the continuous development and progress of science and technology, I believe that humans can get more inspiration or methods to solve current problems from Sargassum. I believe that in the near future, the name "Oasis on the Sea" will not only be used to describe this piece of Sargassum on the sea. The lushness of algae is also used to praise the abundant resources it provides to humans.
Reference article:
Ma Shoucheng. The sea without coasts—Sargasso Sea [J]. Friends of Science (early). 2010, (04)
Gao Yan. The magical Sargasso Sea [J]. Nature exploration .2005,(03)
Xiaofu. The mysterious maritime prairie[J]. Navigation.2002,(02)
Xu Xin. The "sea oasis" once considered a "desert" - the secret of the Sargasso Sea[ J]. Foreign Science and Technology Trends. 2002, (05)
Zheng Lili. "Green Cemetery" on the ocean - Sargasso Sea. [D]. Fujian: Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University , 2010
