Rice, D. (2018, March 26). Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ will persist for decades. Retrieved July 2, 2018, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/science/2018/03/26/gulf-mexico-dead-zone-persist-decades/459335002/
The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, which was the size of New Jersey last year, is probably going to persist for decades according to a study in March of 2018. It has grown extremely large due to the amount of nutrients such as nitrogen pouring in from American farms, and these nutrients can cause a rapid growth of algae. When the algae die, they consume oxygen rapidly, which can cause sea creatures to suffocate. Even if runoff to the gulf was completely eliminated, the dead zone would still last for another 30 years at least.
This dead zone is a New Jersey sized area that fish can no longer access due to the lack of oxygen in the area. Not only does this mess up fish, it can also mess with fishers that go to the Gulf of Mexico since they now have to go farther out just to catch fish and then bring them back as well. The dead zone also affects the ecosystem in the Gulf of Mexico since bigger fish can no longer access that area to hunt for food. They now have to move to other places and other sources of food. The dead zone hurts the ecosystem but there is almost no way to prevent it from hurting anybody as of today.
Dead zones have become a growing crisis in the world recently and they are a major environmental crisis. What do you think is the best way to prevent dead zones from happening?
Limiting runoff from farms and other agricultural areas would be a good place to start, but it may limit the industry. Thank you for commenting.
The dead zone obviously is a threat to local ecosystems, devastating fishing industries. You wrote that there is no present solution, are there any solutions in the works?
Thank you for taking the time to write a comment. The best way to prevent the dead zone from spreading further is to limit the use of pesticides and fertilizers in the area around the Mississippi River which would lead to less nitrogen running off into the river and making its way into the Gulf of Mexico. That will severely limit the agriculture industry in that area, which is why its a no go. I do not know of any other method.
The dead zone in the gulf go Mexico is one of the largest environmental problems, this could lead to many dead animals in the ocean and the fact that it is expanding even larger than it already is, is frightening. This was a well written post, that allows people to be aware of the situation, good job!
Thank you.
Is there a way to prevent issues like this on a large scale before they happen? Maybe a limit on nitrogen concentration in soil or something of the like?
While a limit on fertilizer in the area seems like a good idea, it may mess with the agriculture industry and limit growth for some foods. While this may not seem like that big of a deal since there is plenty of food, the leaders of the agriculture industry would probably push back against this proposal. It may be worth an attempt though.