Since 2024, The UWI and the Clara Lionel Foundation (CLF) have been collaborating on a two-year project focusing on early-warning systems for disaster-prone communities. In a three-part series, the three project components will be explored. Part two looks at the comprehensive research which was undertaken to determine how methods to monitor the movement of sargassum can be improved and how sargassum can be used to create value-added products.
For more than a decade, coastal communities across the Caribbean have been inundated with sargassum.
Since large-scale blooms began affecting the region in 2011, Caribbean islands have struggled to manage the environmental, economic, and social impacts of these recurring landings, with many communities lacking the monitoring tools needed to anticipate major influxes.
Across the region, it’s now a common sight to see the brown-coloured seaweed washing up on coastlines in droves and changing their aesthetics.
But beyond sargassum’s visually unappealing nature and its pungent smell, often likened to that of a rotting egg, sargassum is also consequential for livelihoods.
Sargassum affects the health and well-being of marine ecosystems and species like seagrasses, coral reefs and fisheries, which in turn affect critical industries like tourism and fishing.
It can also pose a threat to human health as a skin irritant and the catalyst for respiratory ailments.
Recognising that sargassum influxes are a persistent regional threat driven by climate change and rising nutrient pollution, the UWI St Augustine Department of Geography is conducting research in Trinidad and Tobago to develop tools that predict the seaweed’s movement and explore ways to turn it into valuable resources.
The initiative reflects UWI’s growing role in advancing applied climate research to support practical decision-making for Caribbean governments, coastal managers, and vulnerable communities.
Since 2024, Tristen Augustine, the project’s research assistant, has played a key role, and recently spoke to UWI TODAY about his experiences and expectations.
“Like the rest of the Caribbean,” he shared, “Trinidad and Tobago has been experiencing significant influxes of sargassum since 2011.
“In Trinidad, we mostly see it on the eastern coast. But in Tobago, the entire island is affected because of its size and location in the Atlantic.
“Within the last two years, we’ve observed areas like Store Bay, which wasn’t previously as affected, become inundated.”
With the unique environmental and geographical vulnerabilities of Tobago to the seaweed, Augustine said it was one of the reasons why Geography Department lecturer Dr Gabrielle Thongs saw the importance of including sargassum- focused research as part of a larger pilot project in Trinidad and Tobago that is aimed at improving disaster resilience and early-warning systems.
Dating back to 2024, the project is a collaboration between The UWI and the Clara Lionel Foundation.
Founded by Barbadian global superstar Rihanna, the Clara Lionel Foundation is a nonprofit organisation that supports climate solutions, equitable health access, arts and culture, future generations, women’s entrepreneurship, and emergency response.
Dr Thongs secured funding from the foundation in 2024 after working alongside the Office of Global Partnerships and Sustainable Futures team.
For the sargassum research, Augustine said a lot of thought was placed into utilising the strengths of geography as an integrative discipline.
“We used drones to assess and analyse the accuracy of sargassum forecasting and monitoring systems, which are based on satellite imagery.
“We compared the observations captured by the drones with information derived from publicly available satellite-based monitoring platforms that track sargassum activity across the region. Through rigorous testing of several available systems, we identified satellite imagery products that can detect early offshore accumulations, providing a useful indicator of potential sargassum influxes before they reach the coastline,” said Augustine.
By combining satellite observations with drone-based verification, the research demonstrated how multiple local geospatial technologies can be integrated to improve the reliability of early detection systems for coastal hazards such as sargassum landings.
“What we learnt from this research is that online satellite tools have limitations, such as interference from sunlight or cloud cover, which can affect precision.
“Tests on beaches like Manzanilla confirmed that satellite imagery alone cannot pinpoint exact locations or quantities of sargassum. However, even with these limitations, the imagery provides a valuable overview of potential sargassum movements, helping local stakeholders make informed decisions.
Early-warning system for fisherfolk, municipal authorities, and coastal managers
Augustine added that weekly satellite imagery will be shared via the early-warning system (EWS) app to indicate anticipated high-influx periods, providing communities with accessible, evidence-based early warnings that support planning and response. This will provide all app users with accessible, evidence-based early awareness.
In practical terms, this information can assist fisherfolk, municipal authorities and coastal managers in preparing for anticipated landings, scheduling cleanup operations and making operational decisions that reduce disruption to livelihoods and tourism activities.
While it’s important to monitor sargassum and prepare for its arrival, Augustine said it’s equally important to have a plan for the sargassum once it’s onshore and to find ways to turn it from a “nuisance into something valuable”.
For the second aspect of the research, it was important to incorporate human geography approaches, with the technological and physical geography approach, to assess the social and economic dimensions of the problem.
Surveys, interviews, and questionnaires were used to capture the lived experiences and socio-economic impacts of the sargassum.
He explained, “So, the term we use is the valorisation of sargassum.”
Rather than viewing the seaweed solely as waste, the concept of valorisation explores ways in which sargassum can be transformed into useful products that support new economic activities while simultaneously addressing the environmental challenge of large-scale landings.
“We interviewed a variety of stakeholders, including entrepreneurs who currently utilise sargassum for various products.
“Sargassum can be used to create agricultural inputs like fertilisers and compost, and we even have a sargassum- based cosmetic and personal care product coming right out of Trinidad and Tobago.”
He noted that in some parts of the Caribbean, sargassum is already being used to make building blocks and biofuels.
These emerging innovations demonstrate that sargassum has the potential to support new circular-economy industries across the Caribbean. At the same time, entrepreneurs often face significant challenges, including access to financing, institutional support, and clear policies, which this pilot project has highlighted as areas for attention. The complexity of these challenges, spanning economic, social, and environmental dimensions, underscores why this is a geography problem that requires an integrated, multidisciplinary approach to develop practical, regionally relevant solutions.
Incorporating the different aspects of geography, Augustine said it reinforced that the findings of the research were grounded in systematic, multi-layered research rather than anecdotal interpretation.
For Augustine, the opportunity to work on this pilot project has been an edifying one, particularly as an emerging researcher.
“It was an honour for me to be part of the project and to add to that field of knowledge. I think this project is an impactful stepping stone in the direction where we expand multidisciplinary approaches to sargassum monitoring, its valorisation and so on.”
While the pilot project is based in Trinidad and Tobago, he is hopeful that its replicability will enable its methodology to be used regionally.
“The method is something that could be transferred to students so that they can use it within their own means to support organisations in their communities and carry the science forward.”
“To me, it’s important that this project is ultimately solution-orientated. It moves beyond just analysis and more into the realm of actionable outcomes,” said Augustine.
The analytical tools and interdisciplinary methods developed through this research will be incorporated into the Department of Geography’s curriculum.
Through this process, students will gain hands- on experience in geospatial monitoring, drone-based environmental observation and applied social research, helping to build the next generation of Caribbean scientists equipped to address regional environmental challenges.
It is envisioned that students will be trained in both the technical and social research components, ensuring that they are equipped, as emerging geographers, with applied, real-world skills. The project simultaneously builds institutional capacity and produces research outputs.
While a key output of this initiative is the development of the EWS application, an equally important objective is to consolidate the data, methods, and lessons learned into a single, accessible knowledge base.
Dr Thongs shared, “In the Caribbean, many practical solutions already exist, yet they often go undocumented or unshared. By capturing and sharing this knowledge, the project ensures successful approaches can be adapted and scaled across communities facing similar risks.
“Equipping the next generation of Caribbean students and researchers with these tools and insights empowers them to take action, confront environmental challenges, and build a future filled with hope, opportunity, and resilience.”
