Dead Zones

Oceans cover approximately 75% of Earth 's surface and are vital to this planet and the people who inhabit it. Oceans provide food, natural resources, and recreation for nearly everyone in this world. Unfortunately Oceans have been receiving mass amount of pollutants including oil spills, toxic waste dumping, and industrial dumping. These pollutants will have negative impacts on the wildlife in the ocean, as we are seeing already with the Coral Reefs, and soon enough it will begin to affect our lives as well.

It is understood that there is not just one problem causing the dead zone in the bay. Two main contributors are the focus. Details are presented on the problems brought to the bay by agriculture, and development. The language is easy to understand and the scientific and environmental message is conveyed in a way that can be followed.

The book, ‘The Killing Zone’ by Frederick Downs, is an autobiography of his own experiences in the war of Vietnam 1967. He splits the book into multiple sections and is in the format of diary inserts describing his journey from start to finish of his time in Asia and his physical and mental incidents. The first chapter is titles ‘The Bridges’ and his journal entries start September 8, 1967 when he arrives to Vietnam. He describes looking down at the war zone and being surprised by how many lights were actually illuminated and that the aircraft to be shot down. Downs didn’t expect the war zone to look so inhabited and visible from the skies. He thought that he was physically prepared for what he was getting himself into, but mentally he

The main problem this paper intends to discuss regards the Gulf of Mexico dead zone. This dead zone, which for the most part encompasses the water off the coast of Louisiana, becomes depleted in dissolved oxygen. The dead zone is an outcome of nutrient runoff into the Gulf from urban areas, wastewater treatment plants, and from atmospheric deposition, however, the majority comes from fertilizers used in agriculture around the Mississippi River Basin. The increase in nutrients has been affecting the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem by forming difficult conditions in which organisms live. Another consequence that is directly related to the ecosystem damage is the effect on the fishing economy in in the region. In the paper I will address the questions, how has the dead zone specifically caused damage to the ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico and how has that damage affected the economic productivity of the fisheries? Furthermore, what policy solutions exist to solve the dead zone problem?

Hypoxia has become a large problem in the Gulf of Mexico, especially along the coast of Louisiana. When there is a large region of water with a low oxygen level it is said to be hypoxic, where as regions with no oxygen are anoxic (Rabalais). The Gulf of Mexico is home to the second largest zone of costal hypoxia in the world, more specifically the continental shelf along the coast of Louisiana (Rabalais). With this change in environment the wildlife inhabiting it have two choices either emigrate or die(Rabalais). Both of those options lead to a wildlife dead zone which in turn leads to a decrease in fishing, shrimping, and crabbing all of which play a major part in south Louisiana’s economy. The best way to reduce hypoxia as well as the size

One species-related effect of global warming was exposed in a recent MSNBC news article dated Oct 23, 2006. It stated that "Dead Zones" have increased by one third in just two years, bringing the number from 149 to 200. Dead Zones are areas of the world 's oceans where blooms of tiny plants known as phytoplankton, along with the bacteria that consume them, have depleted the oxygen that fish rely upon for their very existence. Not only are fish species becoming less plentiful as food but they are also

THE CHESAPEAKE BAY DEAD ZONES This is an article written by the Daily Press titled "The Chesapeake Bay dead zone this summer worst since 2014". The theme is how marine life can be affected by these dead zones and how we will find a way to fix this issue with the farmers. If we don't find a way to fix how many dead

The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is a human problem, like most other disasters. What this means is that once the place thrived and was ecologically balanced, but we tipped the balance slightly and wrecked havoc upon the environment. It has been noted to occur since the 1950’s and is ongoing. The reason that this dead zone occurs is because of a phenomenon known as eutrophication. Eutrophication is when there is an excessive amount of nutrients in a body of water and it causes an abundance of plants to grow. In this case the nearby farms had been using nitrogen in their fertilizers. The nitrogen got carried into the ocean through rain and other forms of

Sediment collected from the riverbank as the river flows downstream is also a problem; it increases the turbidity of the river, and this makes it difficult for plants to receive the necessary sunlight needed for survival. When these plants die, there is less food for fish and other river animals. Bacteria levels also rise in the water, because it can cling to sediment very easily. When there is more sediment, there are more places for the bacteria to collect. (Helsel & Mueller, 2009). All of these problems are occurring as the water is flowing along the river banks, collecting even more sediment, and pollutants as it travels downstream and deposits into the Gulf of Mexico. When all of this sediment, nitrogen and bacteria flow into the Gulf of Mexico, it causes changes in the water there. The increase in the level of nitrogen causes plankton to grow faster. When the plankton decomposes it takes a large amount of oxygen out of the water. The bacteria break down the decomposed plankton, which releases carbon dioxide, taking increasing levels of oxygen out of the water in the Gulf. Eventually the level of oxygen decreases to a point where most living organisms cannot survive. Some animals flee while other plants and animals that cannot leave usually die. This is referred to as the Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico. (Gulf of Mexico; NOAA, 2009). With an expected increase in the size

Blast Zone Ecosystem recovery of Mt Saint Helens has enlightened the scientific community providing a journey of surprise and discovery along the way. This living laboratory (US Department of Agriculture, 2005) is located 96 miles south of Seattle in the Gifford Pinchot National forest. This ecosystem yields 140 inches of rain per year with temperatures ranging from28 degrees in Jan to 59 degrees in July. Soil is made up of weathered tephra deposits; consisting of fine ash and gravel-sized rock debris. Erosion proved to be a positive process for plants, improving their habit. Vast trees that once covered the forest are gone, as new sunlight emerges it gave way for new species to exist. A new ecosystem had emerged since the devastation of the eruption.

In Santa Barbara, California, in 1969, even though the spilled oil was not even very large, thousands of dolphins, seals, and birds were killed (Ivanovich, and Hays, 2008). Moreover, in the Gulf of Mexico, 82,000 birds, roughly 6,165 sea turtles, approximately 25,900 marine mammals, and indefinite amount of oysters, fishes, corals, and crabs have been harmed or killed by the spilled oil. Additionally, the spilled has killed many aquatic plants. ( A Center for Biological Diversity Report, 2008). As a result, vegetation, which are the most essential part of the ecological pyramid, and other animals will be affected negatively by the dangerous impact of the spilled oil, which probably is going to cause some problems in the ecological pyramid. In fact, any defect in the ecological pyramid may become a dreadful problem that occurs an ecological

In the sublittoral zone, pollution is a major factor that affects the organisms in the sublittoral zone. The types of pollution that affects these organisms can be point source or nonpoint

Except for those who take a look and take the time to discover the causes. One of the many causes of the oceanic dead zones is synthetic fertilizers.

Dead zones in the ocean are so called because of the lack of oxygen in the seawater according to Karstensen. Oxygen is obviously needed to support all marine life in these areas. The article also mentions dissolved oxygen is

Oil spills can impact the environment greatly. Since the oil boats are on the ocean if the break and start to leak it goes into the ocean where it can harm the ocean and those that make their home in it. “That spill caused an immediate and significant impact to the ecosystem, with sightings of birds and turtles washed up on beaches covered with oil, as well as an increase in the deaths of other marine life” (Sinclair, 2017). The oil spill in 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico was the biggest since Deepwater Horizon. It caused harm to the ecosystem around it because technology came in so it could pump oil out of the ground under the ocean. There is no way to know the impact that oil spill and really every oil spill has had on the marine ecosystem.