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Scientists Discover Huge Ocean 'Dead Zone' In The Gulf Of Oman

Scientists Discover Huge Ocean 'Dead Zone' In The Gulf Of Oman

It's the size of Scotland and, unless we do something, getting bigger.

Tom Wood

Tom Wood

A huge 'dead zone' larger than the size of Scotland has been discovered by scientists using underwater robot submarines in the Arabian sea.

This is a very worrying discovery for the scientists, who knew there was a problem but were shocked to discover the extent of it.

They say that the situation is 'worse than feared' and that oxygen levels in the sea around the Gulf of Oman are nearly zero.

This means that there is next to no life that can survive in the area between the Arabian Sean and the Strait of Hormuz - a narrow body of water that separates Oman and Iran.

University of East Anglia

The team that sent the submarines down to investigate also said that the problem is 'a disaster waiting to happen' and that it is 'the largest and thickest dead zone in the world'.

Dr Bastien Queste, the lead researcher on the project from the University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences said: "The ocean is suffocating. Of course, all fish, marine plants and other animals need oxygen, so they can't survive there.

"It's a real environmental problem, with dire consequences for humans too who rely on the oceans for food and employment."

University of East Anglia

On top of the lack of life, the dead zone creates a larger problem by impacting on the chemical recycling of nitrogen.

This means that huge amounts of nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas is being produced. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide (CO2).

The research project is the first time that scientists have been able to get their robots into this part of the ocean. Issues with politics in the region and the threat of piracy had previously prevented them being able to survey the area.

They sent down two robots over a period of eight months to build up a picture of how much oxygen was in the waters. The Seaglider robots are capable of diving to depths of 1,000 metres and managed to cover thousands of miles during the project.

Ocean pollution is a huge part of the problem.
PA

Dr Queste continued: "They are a disaster waiting to happen - made worse by climate change, as warmer waters hold less oxygen, and by fertiliser and sewage running off the land into the seas.

"The Arabian Sea is the largest and thickest dead zone in the world. But until now, no-one really knew how bad the situation was because piracy and conflicts in the area have made it too dangerous to collect data.

"We barely have any data collected for almost half a century because of how difficult it is to send ships there. Our research shows that the situation is actually worse than feared."

Dead zones can occur naturally, but human activities are undoubtedly contributing to it. Scientists predict that unless action is taken on climate change all ocean dead zones will continue to grow, decimating life in the seas.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Environment, Iran, Robots, Science, News