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NOAA Photo Library Image - expl0366

A small mass of sargassum weed. The numerous small round spheres are floats filled with carbon dioxide. These provide buoyancy to the algae. Lines of sargassum can stretch for miles along the oceans surface. The clumps of floating algae are often concentrated by the strong winds and wave action associated with the Gulf Stream.

Image ID: expl0366, Voyage To Inner Space - Exploring the Seas With NOAA Collect
Location: South Atlantic Bight, Southeast United States
Photographer: Bruce Moravchik, NOAA
Credit: Islands in the Stream Expedition 2002. NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration

High Resolution Photo Available





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Last Updated:
April 23, 2007