Gulf Of Mexico Hypoxic Zone

Giving full credit to restricting the Mississippi River as the culprit for loss of wetlands is not accurate. The booming oil and gas exploration of the 1970’s and 1980’s merits a name on the marquee as well. The pipelines and canals used to transport the resources to the outside world placed a great deal of stress on the fragile wetlands. Erosion from the barges in and out of the marshes as well as the salt water allowed into the fresh water, providing a precarious habitat for fresh water species – flora and fauna alike. Plants provide root systems to hold soil in place. Fish and fowl provide an economy for the area. Enter

The characteristic warming climate of the Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene resulted in rising sea levels which contributed to the formation of the various deltas in the New Orleans area (Dunbar, Britsch, 2008). The natural formation of these deltas produced coastal wetlands that represent 30% of coastal wetlands currently in the United States (Cigler, 2007). In addition to these wetlands, the Mississippi River was surrounded by substantial forest growth (Pabis, 1998).

The importance of the Chesapeake Bay is introduced. The bay is home to a large amount of seafood businesses, and many people fish the bay and its tributaries for sport. Grass beds are essential to many of the organisms living in this ecosystem, but are being destroyed by pollution. Agriculture involves more than a fourth of the bay's watershed. This makes agricultural runoff a big focus. Excessive nitrogen and phosphorus causes eutrophication. These nutrients come from pesticides and sewage also. A goal was set in 1985 to cut back the percent of nutrients being put into the bay by these two sources. It is thought that redirecting the flow of soil with nutrients in them will reduce the runoff, but if the nutrients seep into groundwater they still get into the Chesapeake Bay. Farmers have ways to help reduce these nutrient levels, but it is not the cheapest way to farm, so not all farmers are doing their part to save the bay. Another contributor of runoff land development. Runoff can occur from exposed land being prepared to be developed, or because of what has been used to replace what used to naturally be.

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?

Along with this devastation, the New River which is the "most polluted waterway in the nation " (due heavily to its raw sewage content, agricultural drainage water and powerplant effluent ) that flows from Mexico and dead ends (literally) into the Salton Sea.(Salton Sea Authority and the Bureau of Reclamation, 1997) These two factors mentioned above are the main cause for the massive fish die off , bird die off, the speeding up process of eutrophication, five forms of predominant bacteria and contamination from DDT , selenium, Botulism , New Castle disease, as well as alga blooms and horrific odors.

The Mississippi River influences the states of Louisiana in numerous ways. The river can be both beneficial and harmful to the state. It may help with industries, but at the same time it may be harming by taking away from Louisiana’s coastline. While erosion is widely considered to be a destructive occurrence, it does have some necessary features. For example, erosion provides many nutrients for animals living in the water, and it creates new deltas that many animals live in. Since the beginning of Louisiana, the Mississippi River has been a crucial factor in the creation and the development of Louisiana’s economy. It has helped with things like trade and the growth of crops. The Mississippi is also significant in the way Louisiana is shaped

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

Fertilizer is causing great harm to oceans and the Gulf of Mexico is a great example. Excess nitrogen causes algae to bloom, which later die depriving the area of oxygen killing marine life. One example of a way to reduce fertilizer burden in the Gulf Of Mexico is using nitrogen more efficiently. According to “Can Farming Changes Help Shrink The Dead Zone In The Gulf,” “By embracing practices that increase efficient use of nitrogen, farmers could cut nitrogen runoff from their farms by 20-25%, (Janet Pelley). This reduction is not enough to affect the dead zone unfortunately. There needs to be an even sharper decrease in nitrogen concentration in the water to make a difference. Some of these practices to use nitrogen more efficiently include,

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

This spring, record breaking floodwaters along the Mississippi River caused massive damage in nine states, totaling over $25 billion dollars in damage (Watts, 2011). In most areas the floodwaters have receded, however there is concern that even a little rain could cause more flooding due to the already saturated land. As cities and towns are beginning the restoration process, one thing caused by the flooding waters cannot be restored. Pollutants’ such as nitrogen from fertilizer, due to this area being primarily composed of farming land, is making its way toward the Gulf of Mexico. Every year pollutants traveling in the Mississippi River enter the Gulf and contribute to the Coastal Dead Zone; however, this year the Dead Zone in the Gulf

The Mississippi Alluvial Aquifer, which underline the soils of the Mississippi Delta region, has been declining on an average of approximately 1-1.5 feet per day. The reason for the decline is that the water table cannot be recharge faster enough to keep up with pumping.

When an animal dies, most people don’t seem to think it’s a big deal. But when a species starts depleting dramatically, things start to get a little more interesting. Oceans and lakes are a very a hypoxia-prone area basically saying there isn’t enough oxygen for an animal to breathe, particularly because of too many nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen, and they die. Some steps can be taken to diminish dead zones from occurring dramatically, but not fully. Here are some ways people can decrease dead zones from the world’s oceans and help save marine wildlife before it’s too late.

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.

Many have described the post-spill Gulf as a gigantic chemical experiment, with as yet unknown effect on its delicate ecosystem. By July 2010, one third of the Gulf’s fishing area—more than 80,000 square miles—had been closed, affecting the livelihood of thousands in coastal Louisiana and Mississippi.

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