NOAA forecasts summer 'dead zone' of nearly 5.4K square miles in Gulf of Mexico. Low oxygen in water often leads to conditions where life cannot be sustained. Find the details here: noaaocean
An aerial drone photo of the Mississippi River near Vicksburg, MS, looking Northeast at the I-20 bridge, the confluence of the Yazoo River is in the foreground. This picture was taken by a drone flown by Jim Alvis and Mike Manning of the USGS in the fall of 2016.
NOAA is forecasting a summer “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico that will be approximately 5,364 square miles, making it about average for the 35-year history of the summertime dead zone measurements in the region. The forecast is lower than last year’s measured size and slightly lower than the five-year average measured size of 5,380 square miles.
The dead zone, or hypoxic area, is an area of low oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life. It occurs every summer andreach the Gulf, they stimulate an overgrowth of algae, which eventually die and decompose, depleting oxygen as they sink to the bottom. The resulting low oxygen levels near the bottom of the Gulf cannot support most marine life. Fish, shrimp and crabs often swim out of the area, but animals that are unable to swim or move away can be stressed or killed.
“The Gulf dead zone remains the largest hypoxic zone in United States waters, and we want to gain insights into its causes and impacts,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, Assistant Administrator of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. “The modeling we do here is an important part of NOAA's goal to protect, restore and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources through ecosystem-based management.”
The Mississippi River watershed, which encompasses over 40% of the continental U.S and crosses 22 state boundaries, is made up of farms , cities , and natural lands . Nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in runoff and discharges from agricultural and urban areas are the major contributors to the annual summer hypoxic dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico .
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