Dead Zone’s Increase In Size Feared
By Nick June 12, 2008
Scientists and researchers from Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium have predicted a “dead zone†off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana to grow to more than 10,000 square miles soon. The so-called dead zone is composed mainly of oxygen-depleted waters that pose to suffocate fish, shrimp and crabs, and seriously threaten the region’s commercial fishing industry.
The bothersome forecast, which should be the largest on record, came after careful observational studies revealed increased nitrate loads on the Mississippi River in May.
Such overabundance of nutrients promotes algae growth. The decaying that takes place when these algae die makes fast use of available oxygen and therefore robs other living water organisms of their share, and there is no longer enough oxygen that can be brought down from the surface.
Forecasters noted that hurricanes and tropical storms may help in oxygenating the water’s bottom layer by disrupting its physical structure, but in the absence of these natural allies there is great fear that the previously measured dead zone would grow to about as large as the state of Massachusetts, and stretch to as far as the continental shelf waters of Texas.
Topsoil deposits, intensive farming and farm fertilizer runoff, and crops used for biofuels have been pointed as the main contributors to the high nitrogen loading rate in the region.
Topics: Eco News |
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