The Sargasso Sea

The Sargasso Sea was briefly mentioned in class the other day, I decided to take a closer look at it.

The Sargasso Sea lies between the West Indies and the Azores and is part of the North Atlantic Ocean. It got its name from the sea weed sargassum that lazily floats on its surface. It is the strangest and most notorious sea on the planet, covering the heart of the Bermuda Triangle.

'The Sargasso Sea occupies that part of the Atlantic between 20o to 35o North Latitude and 30o to 70o (the horse latitudes), West Longitude. It is in complete contrast to the ocean around it. Its currents are largely immobile yet surrounded by some of the strongest currents in the world: The Florida, Gulf Stream, Canary, North Equatorial, Antilles, and Caribbean currents. These interlock to separate this sea from the rest of the tempestuous Atlantic, making its indigenous currents largely entropious. Therefore anything that drifts onto any of its surrounding currents eventually ends up in the Sargasso Sea amidst its expansive weed mats of sargassum. Because of the entropious currents, it is unlikely anything would ever drift out. The Sargasso Sea rotates slightly itself and even changes position as its surrounding currents change with weather and temperature patterns during different seasons'.

'The "Seaweed Sea" has a centuries old rep. for mysterious disappearances.An evaluation of ship and aircraft disappearances draws a striking connection with this ancient sea of mystery and the modern Bermuda Triangle: the northern boundary of the Sargasso Sea more correctly represents the northern limits of the area of disappearances, for many aircraft and ships were in this vicinity when they vanished– i.e. a few hundred miles north of Bermuda but just entering the Sargasso Sea. The s.s Poet, 520-feet, bound for Gibraltar in 1980, a SAC B-52 on maneuvers in 1961, KB-50 ariel tanker in 1962, a Super Connie in 1954, a Navy Martin Marlin amphibian in 1956 are but a few examples'. Read more at: http://shs.westport.k12.ct.us/chia/caribbean/sargasso_sea.htm