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Gulf Of Mexico Has Huge ‘Dead Zone’ Where No Marine Life Can Survive

Gulf Of Mexico Has Huge ‘Dead Zone’ Where No Marine Life Can Survive

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) say pollution needs to be cut or the dead zone will 'continue to wreak havoc'

Claire Reid

Claire Reid

The Gulf of Mexico has a 'dead zone', where there's so little oxygen nothing can survive.

The area is around 6,334 square miles - almost as big as France - and experts say climate change is contributing to its growth.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the area, which is off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, has been an average size of 5,380 square miles over the past five years.

Twitter/The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)

Scientists use a multi-year average to work out the size of the zone, as it can differ vastly year to year.

However, the average of 5,380 square miles is almost three times the goal the US set itself to reduce the five-year average to 1,900 square miles or less by 2035.

The area is so low in oxygen that it cannot sustain marine life.

This summer has seen a particularly high zone.

Nancy Rabalais, the lead investigator, said: "The distribution of the low dissolved oxygen was unusual this summer.

PA

"The low oxygen conditions were very close to shore with many observations showing an almost complete lack of oxygen."

United States Environmental Protection Agency Assistant Administrator for Water Radhika Fox said in a statement: "This year, we have seen again and again the profound effect that climate change has on our communities - from historic drought in the west to flooding events. Climate is directly linked to water, including the flow of nutrient pollution into the Gulf of Mexico.

"As we work to address the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone, we must consider climate change and we must strengthen our collaboration and partnerships to make needed progress."

According to NOAA, the dead zone is caused by agricultural pollution and urban runoff wastewater.

In a statement, NOAA explained that fertilisers used by farmers to help grow crops ends up combining with urban wastewater and brings excessive amounts of nutrients into the Mississippi River.

NOAA says the Mississippi River acts like a draining system, connecting 31 US states and part of Canada. And all of these extra nutrients end up in the Gulf of Mexico, which is when the trouble starts.

PA

The statement goes on: "The nutrients fuel large algal blooms that then sink, decompose, and deplete the water of oxygen.

"This is hypoxia, when oxygen in the water is so low it can no longer sustain marine life in bottom or near bottom waters-literally, a dead zone. And it happens every summer."

When the water ends up like this all the marine life living in the area will leave, but anything that isn't able to escape, such as crabs and clams, die.

The statement ends with a warning that if the amount of pollution isn't reduced, the dead zone will 'continue to wreak havoc on the ecosystem and threaten some of the most productive fisheries in the world'.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: climate change, US News