Hi Martha,

I suspect your event is tied to the prevailing winds than accompanied the rain rather than the precipitation itself. Sargassum generally is a high-salinity species that would not necessarily welcome lower salinities. That said, nutrient-rich fresh water runoff from land does fertilize nearby marine waters, which enhances algal growth, but the time line is not sufficiently fast enough to produce your “explosion.” The increase in Sargassum biomass throughout our region as well as the perhaps changing origin of the species is an interesting and potentially worrisome issue. [...]