Due to the potential dangers of dead zones to the environment and economy in the Gulf of Mexico, the American government needs to make dramatic and controversial efforts to stop the growth of this dead zone.
Hypoxic zones, more commonly known as ‘Dead Zones,’ can be found all over the world, with the second largest located in the Gulf of Mexico. They are lacking in life because of the absence of the atomic number 8, otherwise known as oxygen. According to the Environmental Encyclopedia, hypoxia occurs when the content of oxygen is below or between 2-3 milligrams per liter, while for healthy waters 8 milligrams need to be found (“Dead Zones”). Therefore, a dead zone is a section of water which is unable to sustain life due to an unsustainable amount of oxygen.
Curiously, the body of water which contains one of the largest dead zones is the Gulf of Mexico. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is vast, so much so that an article in The Advocate compares it to two states. “…stretching 6,474 square miles… the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined…” ( Amy Wold "Dead zone larger than last summer *** Triple the size of the task force-set target”)
Dead zone’s formation can originate in numerous ways which can either be a product of nature or humans. Captain Ralph Allen of The Charlotte Sun describes three different ways hypoxic zones can be cultivated by nature: warm waters, biological decomposition and deep chasms (Allen). It is important to realize that they each cause dead zones because of their ability to deplete, or prevent, oxygen in waters.
The Gulf of Mexico is no stranger to heat, so it is not a surprise that its warm climates are a contributor to the construction of dead zones. Consequently, The Cha...
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...these defects cause procreative issues (Blomberg). The hypoxic zones were shown to decrees the egg hatching parentage to 10% from the previous average of 50% (Blomberg). Thus, dead zones bring lasting negative results in larger fish, and present dangers to bottom-dwelling shellfish.
The decline in aquatic life is harmful to American fisheries. For instance about 40% of the fishing industry in the United States is based in the Gulf of Mexico, and the majority is in shrimping (“Dead Zones”). However, the hypoxic zones “...reduced economic productivity in both commercial and recreational fisheries, and both direct and indirect impact on fisheries such as direct mortality and altered migration patterns that may lead to declines in populations.” (“Dead Zones”) Therefore, the American economy will be taking a decreasing hit along with the fish populations in the Gulf.
In this entertaining, search into global fish hatcheries, New York Times writer Paul Greenberg investigates our historical connection with the ever changing ocean and the wild fish within it. In the beginning of the book Paul is telling his childhood fishing stories to his friends, that night Paul discovers that that four fish dominate the world’s seafood markets in which are salmon, tuna, cod, and bass. He tries to figure out why this is and the only logical answer he could come up with is that four epochal shifts caused theses wild fish population to diminish. History shows that four epochal shifts happen within fifteen years causing certain fish species populations to diminish. He discovers for each of the four fish why this happened to
Currently, the United State’s Gulf of Mexico experiences an annual, seasonal “dead zone” as a result of hypoxia. Hypoxia is a low level of dissolved oxygen (<2mg/L) in an area of water. Hypoxia is typically temporary and seasonal, but the low oxygen levels can be devastating to aquatic organisms. Hypoxia occurs in many oceanic waters worldwide, but there is a growing area of concern in our Gulf of Mexico coast. Hypoxia is largely caused by nitrogen fertilizer application for agriculture, with heavy concentrations coming from the Midwestern US. Nitrogen mobilizes as nitrate, and is transported via surface water runoff. The runoff enters tile-drain supported ditches, enters streams and joins the Mississippi river, eventually reaching the gulf. Nitrate mobilization is a problem for human health, and ag. runoff is also often attributed to the contamination of surface and well-water sources in rural areas. High levels of nitrates restrict the ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen. This can harm humans, and is the major cause of infant methemoglobinemia, or “blue baby syndrome”. The safe drinking level standard is 10mg/L.
The State of Florida’s marine ecosystems are in a constant pattern of change. Change is necessary in nature. Change is nature’s way of adaptation. While there are “occasional good” changes, the progressive major changes have a devastating negative impact to the Florida marine environment. There are several factors correlated directly to this negative change. Most of these factors are due to man. One cause is natural. It is the hurricane. Hurricane Season is from June to November (NOAA) each and every year. On average 11 named storms occur in the Atlantic Basin each year with 6 reaching hurricane strength and 50% of these becoming a major hurricane of category 3 to 5 on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale (NOAA). Whether small or large, hurricanes cause damage and modifica...
First the causes of the dead zone will be introduced. Large contributors of excessive nutrients will be discussed. There is not one source to blame the Chesapeake Bay dead zone is a large problem with many variables that effect each other. Next the pressure that is put on the bay and its organisms will be discussed. A picture of what you might find out in the dead zone will be painted. The reality of the rapidly declining organism populations will be understood. Third, the possible solutions will be explained. Since this is a multiple variable problem there are many potential solutions that may or may not work. Last the lack of action will be observed. There are many solutions that could bring the bay back to life but the cost and lack of effort fr...
Rupert Murray’s The End of the Line focuses on the depletion of the oceans fisheries and the devastating effects it has already begun to have on ecosystems and less affluent populations. The film opens with a description of the tribulations of Newfoundland. Once possessing waters so populous with cod that one could “walk across their backs in the water,” improved technology and larger fishing vessels began to deplete the fish stocks. Despite placing a moratorium on fishing in 1992, the fisheries had already been depleted to the point of complete collapse. Similar processes are occurring around the world, as only .6% of the ocean is restricted to fishing vessels. According to the film, much of the ocean’s catch has declined by 90%; the continuation of current trends if continue, stocks will collapse by 2048.
Clean water involves seclusion of lakes and hoping the acid rain does not reach these pure water supplies. Another major source of contaminating clean water are oil spills and how destructively they blanket the shoreline they come in contact with. Although offshore drilling expeditions contribute some to the devastating outcome, oil tankers are the superior enemies toward the water. One estimate is that for every one million tons of petroleum shipped one ton is spilled. The largest super tanker spill was in 1979 when 3.3 million barrels was spilled off the coast of France. The largest in the United States was the Exxon Valdez in the gulf of Alaska. On the night of March 24, 1989 the 987 foot Exxon Valdez ran aground in the gulf of Alaska spilling 260,000 barrels of oil. With the help of the forceful winds, the slick soon covered about 1,100 miles of shoreline, including many islands in the sound.
The LISS is undergoing studies that in hopes will reduce the extent of hypoxia. In order to restore the health of Long Island Sound additional nitrogen reduction is needed. Two major research efforts have provided much of the information on how low oxygen conditions affect living resources in the Sound. The EPA’s (Environmental Protections Agencies) Office of Research and Development conducted a study which was the first major research effort.
Dissolved oxygen is one of the best indicators of the health of a water ecosystem. Dissolved oxygen can range from 0-18 parts per million (ppm), but most natural water systems require 5-6 parts per million to support a diverse population (Phosphates).
Not mentioned in the report is a technique called bioremediation, which uses microbes to clean up the hazardous waste. Some small natural organisms, such as bacteria, can eat, digest and gain energy from contaminants, converting them into small amounts of water or innocuous gases. Specific conditions must be present for bioremediation to be successful. Natural amendments can be added if ideal conditions are not present, or contaminated soil can be treated ex situ. Traditionally, it takes anywhere between a few months and several years for bioremediation to fully clean a Superfund site, depending on the size of the site and extent of contamination. Bioremediation is currently being used to clean up contaminated groundwater at the Iceland Coin Laundry Superfund Site in New Jersey (EPA, n.d.). Additionally, experiments are currently underway to determine if fungi can help remediate some of the contamination at the Newtown Creek Superfund Site in New York City (Parry, 2012). As an all-natural alternative, bioremediation is a particularly appealing clean up method. If ideal conditions for microbial growth are not present at the Portland Harbor Superfund site, bioremediation could be a good ex situ treatment
The influence of human activity concerning marine chemistry has numerous negative effects on the marine environment.
of the Gulf of Mexico and The Panamic Biota: Some Observations Prior to a Sea-Level Canal,
Since the 1960s dead zones have doubled every 10 years (McDermott). In 2008 the number of dead zones were 400 (McDermott). They have been found near the coast of Asia, New Zealand, the Black Sea, and Australia, just to name a few (Yarbrough). They have also been found in Lake Eerie (“The Gulf of”). One of the largest ocean dead zones can be found in the Gulf of...
The bathypelagic zone is an area that comprises depths between 1,000 and 4,000 meters deep in the Atlantic Ocean. If the mesopelagic zone had almost no sunlight this zone is completely dark, that is, it is part of the aphotic zone since not receive any light incidence. The temperatures in the mesopelagic zone revolves around 4 degrees Celsius in the surface parte until 2 degrees Celsius in the
The dead zones in turn affect the life of aquatic organisms. They cannot survive in the dead zones and hence they have to migrate to areas where they can get better oxygen and better food and other materials necessary for survival. The migration of aquatic organisms results into scrambling of resources, which in turn end up in shortages. The HABs also make the aquatic environment to be uncomfortable for the aquatic organisms to survive and undergo their normal life cycle (Kinkaid, 2014).
And a build-up of nitrogen from fertilizers washed off farmland into seas could spur abrupt blooms of algae that choke fish or create oxygen-depleted "dead zones" along coasts.