What are the causes and effects of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone?

What are the causes and effects of the Gulf of Mexico dead zone?

The annual Gulf of Mexico dead zone is primarily caused by excess nutrient pollution from human activities in urban and agricultural areas throughout the Mississippi River watershed. The Gulf of Mexico dead zone occurs every summer.

What are the effects of the dead zone?

The overgrowth of algae consumes oxygen and blocks sunlight from underwater plants. When the algae eventually dies, the oxygen in the water is consumed. The lack of oxygen makes it impossible for aquatic life to survive.

What are the impacts of dead zones Why is the one in the Gulf of Mexico so large?

Human activities in urban and agricultural areas throughout the Mississippi River watershed primarily cause the annual “dead zone.” Excess nutrients flow into the Gulf of Mexico and stimulate an overgrowth of algae, which die and decompose. The algae deplete oxygen as they sink to the bottom.

How does the dead zone effect fish?

The size and duration of hypoxia or dead zones in estuarine and coastal bottom waters has increased at an alarming rate for the past 20 years. This is a direct consequence of nutrient pollution. The resulting hypoxia kills some fish and squeezes others into small areas, where they are easy picking for predators.

What causes dead zones in the ocean?

When there are excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus in the water, algae can bloom to harmful levels. Dead zones form when the algae die, sink to the bottom, and are decomposed by bacteria—a process that strips dissolved oxygen from the surrounding water.

What is the purpose of studying dead zones?

These studies are leading to enhanced predictive models capable of examining a multitude of interacting factors (e.g., nutrient input and recycling, freshwater inflow, circulation patterns) on the size of the hypoxic zone and how hypoxia affects commercially and ecologically important species in the region.

What are the effects of ocean dead zones?

Dead zones are the most severe result of eutrophication. This dramatic increase in previously limited nutrients causes massive algal blooms. These “red tides” or Harmful Algal Blooms can cause fish kills, human illness through shellfish poisoning, and death of marine mammals and shore birds.

What is a Gulf dead zone?

LUMCON/LSU) Today, NOAA-supported scientists announced that this year’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone”— an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and marine life — is approximately 6,334 square miles, or equivalent to more than four million acres of habitat potentially unavailable to fish and bottom species.

What animals are most affected by dead zones?

Dead zones are areas in bodies of water like the Chesapeake Bay that have little to no oxygen. Fish, crabs, oysters and other aquatic life literally suffocate in these zones.

How does the Mississippi River affect the Gulf of Mexico?

The Mississippi River and its delta play a large role in influencing the Gulf of Mexico. The Mississippi River Delta provides food and habitat for numerous estuarine-dependent species, preventing sediments and nutrients from reaching the Gulf in areas where wetlands are being built – such as the Atchafalaya.

What is the dead zone in Gulf of Mexico?

The hypoxic zone in the northern Gulf of Mexico is an area along the Louisiana-Texas coast, where water near the bottom of the Gulf contains less than two parts per million of dissolved oxygen, causing a condition referred to as hypoxia. Each summer, the size of the hypoxic zone is measured.

Can you swim in a dead zone?

The dead zone doesn’t directly affect humans perse, since we don’t rely on getting oxygen from the water. Check with your local health department to find out if local waters are safe for swimming. In addition, excess nitrogen and phosphorus can cause blooms of harmful algae, that should also be avoided by humans.

Is the Gulf of Mexico dead?

The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is one of the largest in the world. Marine dead zones can be found in the Baltic Sea , Black Sea, off the coast of Oregon, and in the Chesapeake Bay . Dead zones may also be found in lakes, such as Lake Erie.

Where is the Gulf Dead Zone?

The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is an area of hypoxic (link to USGS definition) (less than 2 ppm dissolved oxygen) waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Its area varies in size, but can cover up to 6,000-7,000 square miles.

What is the Dead Zone?

Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world’s oceans and large lakes, caused by “excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other factors that deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom water.