From month to month, sargassum beaches in different locations. We are working to find out why”
explains Dr Ava Maxam, Deputy Director of Mona GeoInformatics Institute (MGI) at the University of the West Indies Mona campus in Jamaica.
“At MGI we have been using satellite data to track the sargassum. We’ve created maps of monthly sargassum beaching from 2018-2020. From month to month, the location of the sargassum beaching changes significantly. There are so many different factors affecting sargassum beaching, for example shoreline, wind, wave, and tide dynamics. We want to find out why that is, and to improve prediction of sargassum landings.
With our government partners we are excited to improve the detection systems with remote sensing and drone technologies. Together we will establish an early warning system for Jamaica, which will be relevant to the most impacted industries, and for entrepreneurs. We are hoping to launch this over the next 2 years, you can follow our progress at blue.monagis.com”
Listen now to Ava’s 4 minute interview