Inertia Influences Pelagic Sargassum Advection and Distribution

Abstract The effect of inertia (resistance to a change in velocity of buoyant finite‐sized objects) on the advection of pelagic Sargassum , a macroalgae, is a function of the size and density of natural Sargassum rafts. Here we present observations of Sargassum density and an approach for estimating an effective radius of Sargassum rafts from remote‐sensing observations. This allows the existing theoretical framework for Lagrangian modeling of inertial effects on spherical particles to be applied to Sargassum . Accounting for inertia yields up to a 20% increase in Sargassum export from the Sargasso Sea southward and provides a return pathway to the tropics that may be important to maintaining a self‐sustaining population. Resolving inertial effects also leads to increases in retention in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, where Sargassum inundation events are increasingly common. Including inertial effects in models of Sargassum advection could improve predictions of these events.