The sea with links to Bermuda Triangle, a record garbage patch and entirely isolated from land
The Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic is the only sea in the world that does not touch land. It is held entirely by ocean currents. This has led to a large collection of garbage collecting in the seaweed around it that runs for several kilometres. It also has a Bermuda Triangle connection.
Sargasso Sea, an ecological treasure but home to the North Atlantic Garbage Patch
The Sargasso Sea is the only sea known to man on Earth that does not touch any land from any side. Located in the North Atlantic Ocean, it has unique boundaries and is held together by ocean currents. There is no beach, but there is a seaweed called Sargassum that blankets the sea. It is a foul-smelling man-made island that is also known as the North Atlantic Garbage Patch. Despite being repellent, it provides critical habitat and nursery grounds for countless species. Here is all you need to know about the Sargasso Sea.
Ocean gyres hold the sea together
The Sargasso Sea is held together by four currents - the North Atlantic Current to the north; the Canary Current to the east; the North Atlantic Equatorial Current to the south, and the Antilles Current to the west. These currents are called ocean gyres and trap the body of water within them.
Hundreds of kilometres long garbage patch
While the currents hold a "lake in the middle of the sea", they are also adding to the garbage patch. The gyre's circulating motions bring with them plastic pieces that become a part of the garbage patch, which extends for hundreds of kilometres. It is so large that it supposedly carries 200,000 pieces of rubbish per square kilometre.
Sargasso Sea critical for several sea creatures
The carpet of golden-brown sargassum seaweed has led to it being called the “golden floating rainforest" by renowned marine biologist Dr Sylvia Earle. The sea supports the ecology of the ocean as iconic marine life, such as endangered eels (European and American), turtles, billfish, tuna, whales, sharks, and seabirds depend on it to breed and for migration. According to the Sargasso Sea Commission, the eels go to the sea to breed, while sperm and humpback whales migrate through it.
Sargasso Sea in folklore
The sea also has some superb tales attached to its name. When Christopher Columbus encountered the seaweed mats of Sargassum in 1492, he feared that they would entangle them and drag them to the ocean floor. He wrote in his expedition diaries that it was so calm in the Sargasso Sea that they thought it might not let them return to Spain.
The Bermuda Triangle link
This story did not help the cause of the sea that floats in the middle without belonging to any shore. Another thing that makes people fear the sea is its link to the Bermuda Triangle. The notorious region is a mysterious point where aeroplanes and ships vanish, is located in the southwest area of the Sargasso between Bermuda, Florida and Puerto Rico.
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