COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)- If you have ever heard someone talk about a “dead zone” in the Gulf, you might wonder what that means. According to NOAA, the “dead zone” is caused by hypoxia, which refers to “reduced levels of oxygen in the water”.
How does this affect sea life? Fish and other marine life need certain levels of oxygen to survive. When the oxygen levels drop too low (hypoxia) they will avoid that area of the ocean or die.
How does the “dead zone” happen? These hypoxic or “dead zones” occur naturally in the Gulf every year. However, human interactions can cause them to grow larger. Excess nutrients come down from the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River basins, which causes too much algae to bloom in the Gulf, per NOAA.
Once the algae die, they deplete the oxygen in that area of the Gulf. Each year, the dead zone can move, grow, or shrink depending on the nutrient runoff. Dead zones occur in several other coastal areas around the United States.
Dead Zone Summer 2025 Forecast: On June 11th, NOAA released their forecast for the “dead zone” in the Gulf. Part of their study was looking at the nutrient runoff from the river basins. They found that, in May, the discharge was 29% above average (from 1980-2024)…