Marine mucilage

Sea snot - A quick look at its rheological (visco-elastic) properties^[1]

Marine mucilage, sea snot or sea saliva is a collection of mucus-like organic matter found in the sea. The creamy, gelatinous substance is generally not harmful, but can attract viruses and bacteria, including E. coli, and it can become a blanket that suffocates the marine life below.^[2] It is frequently seen in the Mediterranean Sea.^[3]

Causes[]

Marine mucilage, also called sea snot, "is essentially a mass of microorganisms enriched by components of excessive nutrients from untreated waste discharged into the sea." Professor Hüseyin Erduğan from Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University's Department of Biology, explains that "the mucilage is actually an exopolysaccharide (a biomacromolecule composed of carbohydrate residues emitted by microorganisms) and that while pollution did aggravate the sea snot problem, it was ultimately caused by those microorganisms."^[4] The increase in sea snot is due to the large increase of phosphorus (phosphorus values were measured to be three to four times higher than previous year) and other excessive nutrients^[5] combined with drought conditions and with prolonged warm temperatures and calm weather.^[2] Globs of marine snow coagulate into large blobs that can span distances as large as 125 miles (200 km).^[6] The mucilage has many components, including a wide range of microorganisms including viruses and prokaryotes, and exopolymeric compounds with colloidal properties.^[7] Sea snot is also produced by phytoplankton when they are stressed.^[8]

Effects[]

The significant increase in the amount of sea snot in 2021 in Turkey suddenly became a political issue as well as an environmental issue.^[9] The growth in snot that year was exponential as it reached a tipping point in the Mediterranean and other seas.^{[citation needed]} Sea snot was observed clumping at least as early as 2009. Some overgrowth is partly due to climate change.^[10] Warmer, slower moving waters increase the production of sea snot and allow it to accumulate in massive blobs.^[6] Sea snot was first reported in 1729 and has long been seen as a nuisance to the fishing industry and coastal populations.^[6] Recently, sea snot has emerged not only as a nuisance, but as a major hazard. Its not just that globs of snot can harbor bacteria such as E. coli which threaten maritime flora and fauna, as well as humans exposed to contaminated water but sea snot can also coat the gills of sea creatures subsumed in it, cutting off oxygen and killing them.^[6]

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico created large amounts of sea snot. Scientists are not sure how exactly the spill caused so much sea snot to form, but one theory asserts that the sea snot could have been the result of a massive kill of microscopic marine life creating a "blizzard" of marine snow. Scientists worry that the mass of sea snot could pose a biohazard to surviving marine life in the area.^{[11][needs update]} It is widely believed that the sea snot left by the spill directly resulted in the loss of sea life in the Gulf of Mexico, as evidenced by a dead field of deepwater coral 11 kilometers from the Deepwater Horizon station.^[12]

In early 2021, sea snot spread in the Sea of Marmara, due to pollution from wastewater dumped into seawater, which led to the proliferation of phytoplankton, and posed a great threat to the marine biome.^[13][14] The port of Erdek at the Sea of Marmara was covered by the sea snot,^[15] in which Turkish workers embarked on a massive effort to vacuum up the slimy marine mucilage in June 2021. At that time it was not clear how to remove the underwater mucilage.^[16] Yalıköy port in Ordu Province also witnessed accumulating mucilage in June 2021, in the Black Sea.^[17]

Countermeasures[]

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Short-term countermeasures include collecting it from the sea surface and laying barriers on the sea surface.^[18] Long-term countermeasures include improving wastewater treatment,^[19] creating marine protected areas,^[18] and limiting climate change.^[18] Another effort could be developing such water bodies as tourist hubs so that waters do not remain stagnant for long which contributes for accumulation of sea snot.^{[citation needed]} Another one could be introducing such marine species in the sea which could consume excessive nutrients, for cleaning purpose only and later keeping them in artificially developed habitats.^{[citation needed]}

See also[]

• Marine snow – Shower of mostly organic detritus falling from the upper layers of the water column
• Mucilage – Thick, gluey substance produced by nearly all plants and some microorganisms

References[]