The “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is the largest since 2002 and more than three times bigger than the target set by the so-called Hypoxia Task Force. Scientists say the dead zone, where there is too little oxygen in the water to support marine life, covers 6,474 square miles, equal to the combined size of Connecticut and Rhode Island. Researchers, who conducted a week-long survey to estimate the size of the dead zone, say nutrient run-off from heavy June rainfall in the Mississippi Valley watershed swelled the size of the dead zone.
Nancy Rabalais of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium said, “Heavy rains that came in June with additional nitrogen and even higher river discharges in July are the possible explanations for the larger size.” The annual survey, funded by the EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is a primary gauge of the success of efforts to contain nutrient runoff from agriculture and other human activities. The average size of the dead zone in the Gulf is 5,500 square miles and the goal is to reduce it to 1,900 square miles. The Gulf dead zone is the second-largest in the world, says NOAA. The dead zone impairs commercial and recreational fisheries in the Gulf and reduces habitat for marine life.
And in related news, Toledo residents have a new summer ritual – stocking up on bottled water, says Mother Jones in a story about algae blooms in Lake Erie.