The Sargasso Sea is a region in the gyre in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. It
is bounded on the west by the Gulf Stream; on the north, by the North Atlantic Current;
on the east, by the Canary Current; and on the south, by the North Atlantic Equatorial
Current. This system of ocean currents forms the North Atlantic Gyre. All the currents
deposit the marine plants and refuse they carry into this sea.
The Sargasso Sea is 1,100 km wide and 3,200 km long. It stretches from roughly 70 degrees
west to 40 degrees west, and from 20 degrees north to 35 degrees north. Bermuda is near
the western fringes of the sea. The ocean water in the Sargasso Sea is distinctive for
its deep blue color and exceptional clarity, with underwater visibility of up to 200 feet.
History The naming of the Sargasso Sea after the Sargassum
seaweed traces back to the early 15th century Portuguese explorations of the Azores Islands
and of the large "volta do mar", around and west of archipelago, where the seaweed was
often present. The Sargasso Sea was first fully crossed by the expedition of Christopher
Columbus in 1492, who was amazed by the masses of seaweed he encountered. However, the sea
may have been known to earlier mariners, as a poem by the late 4th century author, Rufus
Festus Avienus, describes a portion of the Atlantic as being covered with seaweed, citing
a now-lost account by the 5th-century B.C. Carthaginian explorer Himilco the Navigator.
Ecology
The Sargasso Sea is home to seaweed of the genus Sargassum, which floats en masse on
the surface there. The sargassum is not a threat to shipping, and historic incidents
of sailing ships being trapped there are due to the often calm winds of the horse latitudes.
The Sargasso Sea also plays a major role in the migration of the European eel and the
American eel. The larvae of both species hatch there and go to Europe or the East Coast of
North America. Later in life, they try to return to the Sargasso Sea to lay eggs. It
is also believed that after hatching, young Loggerhead Sea Turtles use currents, such
as the Gulf Stream to travel to the Sargasso Sea, where they use the Sargassum as cover
from predation until they are mature. The Sargasso Sea was the subject of a recent
metagenomics effort called the Global Ocean Sampling survey by J. Craig Venter and others,
to evaluate the diversity of microbial life there. The results have indicated that, contrary
to previous theories, the area has a wide variety of prokaryotic life.
Owing to surface currents, the Sargasso accumulates a high concentration of non-biodegradable
plastic waste. The huge North Atlantic Garbage Patch in the area is similar to another ocean
phenomenon, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Several nations and nongovernmental organizations
have joined together to protect the Sargasso Sea. These organizations include the Sargasso
Sea Commission established on 11 March 2014 by the governments of the Azores, Bermuda,
Monaco, United Kingdom and the United States. Depictions in popular culture
The Sargasso Sea is often portrayed in literature and the media as an area of mystery.
Stories set within the Sea In 1846 Edward Forbes hypothesized a post-Miocene
land mass extending westward from Europe into the Atlantic. "If this land existed it did
not extend to America: where then was the edge or coastline of it, Atlantic-wards? Look
at the form & constancy of the great fucus-bank & consider that it is a Sargassum bank".
The Sargasso Sea features in classic fantasy stories by William Hope Hodgson, such as his
novel The Boats of the "Glen Carrig", Victor Appleton's Don Sturdy novel, Don Sturdy in
the Port of Lost Ships: Or, Adrift in the Sargasso Sea, and several related short stories.
Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea describes the Sargasso Sea and gives
an account of its formation. Jean Rhys' novel Wide Sargasso Sea refers
to, but is not set in the sea, being concerned with colonial era Jamaica.
In episode 28 of The Little Mermaid, the Sargasso Sea is featured as the primary location of
a great battle involving the merfolk and the octopans.
Ezra Pound's poem, "Portrait d'une Femme," begins, "Your mind and you are our Sargasso
Sea". Other stories include:
The 1923 silent film The Isle of Lost Ships, an atmospheric adventure from director Maurice
Tourneur, takes place in the Sargasso Sea. The film was based on Crittenden Marriott's
1909 novel The Isle of Dead Ships. The Isle of Lost Ships is now a lost film. It was refilmed
at the dawn of sound in 1929 by director Irvin Willat.
Fred Andrew's mystery novel Plato's Pond features the fictitious land of Gaia, which is a continent
in the middle of the Sargassum Sea.
In several fictional depictions, the Sargasso Sea is detailed as a mythical floating ship
graveyard in which ships get caught in the seaweeds and never get free again, turning
the vessels into ghost ships. Versions of such are shown in:
the first episode of "Johnny Quest" and a subsequent parody in The Venture Brothers
the German role-playing game book Schiff der Rätsel, by Uwe Anton
the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Ravenloft supplement Islands of Terror
The book "Sargasso of Space" written by "Andre Norton", concerned an alien planet upon which
uncounted spaces ships were drawn in to crash on the planet. The book references the Sargasso
Sea. In the first book of the Cryptid Conspiracies
series, the Sargasso Sea was the area where European eels enter the sea and metamorphosed
into the species of the Loch Ness Monster. Similarly, in Steve Alten's 2005 novel, The
Loch, the Loch Ness Monster was said to be a massive species of Anguilla anguilla that
spawned in the Sargasso Sea and then migrated to Loch Ness. The monster, Nessie, was then
a member of this species trapped in the lake.
The 1933 Doc Savage pulp magazine story The Sargasso Ogre
In the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons setting Spelljammer, Sargassos are "dead zones" where
the magic needed to propel ships through space doesn't work, potentially trapping the ships'
crews there until death. In music
The 1977 album Sunshower by Taeko Onuki contained a track entitled "SARGASSO".
The 1982 album "A Blind Sign" by Shoc Corridor B1 track was titled "Sargasso Sea".
The 1990 album "Michael Lee Firkins" by Michael Lee Firkins final track was titled "The Sargasso
Sea". The 1994 album ST3 by Salt Tank contained
a track entitled "Sargasso Sea". The instrumental jam band Lotus released a
double live album in May, 2007, titled Escaping Sargasso Sea. It was nominated for a Jammy
award by Guitar Player magazine for "Best Live Album of 2007". The album was described
by Relix magazine as "sexy and sophisticated dance music, mature enough to be played in
the club or the living room". In 2009, progressive metal band Scale the
Summit released an album called "Carving Desert Canyons" the second track is titled "Sargasso
Sea" The 2011 album "In Your Dreams" by Stevie
Nicks contained a track entitled "Wide Sargasso Sea".
'Sargasso' by Big Flame is included on their second EP 'Rigour'.
In the 2007 music video for 'Dashboard' by Modest Mouse contains a map that references
the Sargasso Sea. 1976 guitar duet album "Sargasso Sea" by Ralph
Towner and John Abercrombie includes track three, also titled "Sargasso Sea." ECM records
produced by Manfred Eicher. The 2005 album "Silver Ship" by musician Suzanne
Ciani contains a track titled "Sargasso Sea". References
External links Sargasso Sea Alliance
Skeptoid #132: The Sargasso Sea and the Pacific Refuse Patch at Skeptoid
What's the story on the Sargasso Sea? Photos of organisms living in the Sargasso
Sea