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.

MacPherson, E. (n.d.). Petition urges health department to warn of algal blooms. Retrieved July 2, 2018, from http://cbs12.com/news/local/petition-urges-health-department-to-warn-of-algal-blooms

A woman named Jennie Pawlowsky of Martin County, Florida has begun a petition to get the Martin County Health Department to warn the public about the dangers of algal blooms. She believes that nobody should be in the water due to the sheer amount of algal blooms along the coast. Pawlowsky and other supporters of her petition believe that the health department must put up a sign around areas that are unsafe to enter due to algal blooms. She also believes that the health department is not taking the issue seriously.

The statement from the health department on the lack of communication is fairly concerning because it implies that the algal blooms are not being taken seriously. A sign would be an effective method of getting the message out to everybody who it may affect, as not everybody will read or listen to a statement issued by the health department. The health department may not be able to change the amount of algae in the water, but they are able to give ample warning to the people of their county. The people of Martin County should be warned so that they don’t make a mistake they won’t regret, but their health department is not taking it as seriously as they should.

Devdiscourse News Desk. (2018, June 12). Discover links between climate change and eutrophication | Global Edition. Retrieved July 2, 2018, from https://www.devdiscourse.com/Article/23457-discover-links-between-climate-change-and-eutrophication

Lake Tianchi, a lake at a high altitude and latitude, which had little human interference, has seen a large rise in eutrophication. Tests are being done on the lake to see the effects of climate change on lakes. It is suggested that the increased eutrophication is due to the warmer climate, changes in precipitation patterns, and hydrodynamic fluctuations caused by wind. Local temperature and changes in precipitation are related to atmospheric circulation.

By learning more about what causes eutrophication people can attempt to prevent it since they actually understand what helps and what doesn’t. Since we understand that increasing climate is leading to plant life overgrowing in certain areas we can attempt to prevent it by cutting down on fossil fuels or anything that causes excessive carbon emissions. It is also interesting that eutrophication is at least partially caused by changing precipitation patterns, since that is far harder to prevent. Eutrophication also can’t be entirely blamed on runoff, since it still occurred where there was probably very little runoff.

DEQ, & KUTV. (n.d.). Algal Bloom spreads in Utah Lake, public warned to avoid area. Retrieved July 2, 2018, from http://kutv.com/news/local/algal-bloom-spreads-in-utah-lake-public-warned-to-avoid-area

Algal blooms in Utah have caused quarantines in Provo Bay, Lincoln Marina, Sandy Beach, and Utah Lake State Park. Eric Edwards, the Deputy Director of Utah County Health Department, says that the public must be aware of the conditions in the lake so that they know to avoid it until the bloom is sorted out. LM, SB, and ULSP all have toxin levels that exceed the recreational threshold. The bloom was caused by cyanobacteria which, in warm climates with sunlight, and nutrient heavy water, can reproduce rapidly.

This relates to environmental science since the cyanobacteria that caused the algal bloom can be researched to explore possibilities that prevent them from taking over bodies of water. If people can’t use the water, that means that animals for which the lake and possibly the fish in it are part of the ecosystem are screwed over. It’s possible that they aren’t able to adapt, and thus we lose another species to the endangered list. Now, one lake may not cause that, but if the world allows these blooms to keep happening then several ecosystems will be ruined. Humanity needs to take preventative measures to save other animals and themselves.

Carrington, D. (2018, January 04). Oceans suffocating as huge dead zones quadruple since 1950, scientists warn. Retrieved July 2, 2018, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jan/04/oceans-suffocating-dead-zones-oxygen-starved

The journal Science published an analysis of dead zones which revealed that the amount of large dead zones in the ocean have quadrupled since the 1950s. The amount of dead zones along coasts in general has almost dectupled. These dead zones are caused by climate change, since as the oceans get warmer they are no longer able to hold the same amount of oxygen. These dead zones are most common along coasts, but they are sometimes found out in the open ocean. Scientists have said that they are preventable, but they are not a priority for the governments of the world.

This article is relevant to the environment because dead zones heavily affect the ecosystem of marine animals since they can no longer access areas that they might need. Some other marine animals may accidentally swim into those regions and die. These dead zones could cause mass extinction for sea creatures and could also ruin humanity’s interest in the ocean. Several millions of people rely on the ocean for their jobs or for food, so preventing dead zones should be relatively high on the priority list since dead zones inhibit people’s ability to rely on the ocean. Since dead zones affect both marine life and other land animals that rely on the ocean for food, preventing the dead zones from spreading should be high on the priority list for the countries most heavily affected by it.