Gulf of Mexico dead zone could reach 8000 square miles

Researchers say the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico could be one of the largest on record and continue to threaten the half billion dollar gulf coast seafood industry. University of Michigan aquatic ecologist Donald Scavia and his colleagues expect a Gulf dead zone near 8000 square miles—an area about the size of New Jersey. The Gulf dead zone forms each spring and summer off the Louisiana and Texas coast when oxygen levels drop too low to support most life in bottom and near-bottom waters. The zone is caused by nitrates and nitrogen from fertilizer and urban runoff flowing down the Mississippi River. Researchers say they believe the dead zone will be larger than usual this year because of above-normal flows in the Mississippi this spring. In April and May, flows were 11 percent above average.