Launched in 2020, the Sargassum Information Hub (https://sargassumhub.org/) serves as a single-entry point to access up-to-date information and tools to monitor and manage Sargussum blooms in the Atlantic Ocean and its coastal areas. Developed jointly by the GEO Blue Planet Initiative, IOCARIBE of IOC-UNESCO, the AIR Centre and AtlantOS, the Hub is also the result of international cooperation among multiple global stakeholders to respond to the global need for a centralised Sargassum information platform. The Sargassum Hub’s activities are currently co-coordinated by Audrey Hasson, the GEO Blue Planet EU Coordinator, hosted by Mercator Ocean International as part of EU4OceanObs.
We welcome organisations and and experts working on Sargassum to register on the Hub to increase visibility of Sargassum activities and strengthen the coordination of efforts among different stakeholders.
The Hub provides information about the ongoing research on Sargassum, international efforts to monitor, forecast and manage concentrations of Sargassum in the tropical Atlantic and related events and news. Catering to the information needs of all stakeholders, from researchers to local fishers, the Hub allows users to explore available observation and forecast reports, and latest technologies and tools used in tracking and predicting the movements of Sargassum.
Future developments include translating the Hub into several languages and launching dedicated country pages, allowing users to find location specific information. There will also be focus on expanding existing efforts to monitor and forecast Sargassum in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, the Americas, and across the Atlantic Basin to the African coast. With advances in research, and monitoring and forecasting capabilities, the Hub will continue to keep its users up to date on latest developments.
Side event at the All-Atlantic 2021 Conference
The Sargassum Hub and its envisioned developments will be presented at an official side event of the All-Atlantic R&I for a Sustainable Ocean: Ministerial High-level & Stakeholders Conference (2 – 4 June, virtual event). Hosted by GEO Blue Planet, the side event will address challenges, solutions and opportunities behind the spread of Sargassum across the Tropical Atlantic. Creating a space for discussion between stakeholders, engineers and scientists, the event will facilitate the much needed interactions to co-design the future of the Hub to better respond to the global needs for ocean information on Sargassum.
