Gulf of Mexico dead zone as big as New Jersey

Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have found this year's Gulf of Mexico dead zone to be the fifth largest on record at 7,722 square miles - an area roughly the size of New Jersey.
The dead, or hypoxic zone, reaches from Louisiana toward Texas and this year scientists found the largest area of low oxygen off the upper Texas coast since surveys began in 1985.
The “dead zone” forms during the summer after nitrates and nitrogen from fertilizer, urban runoff and other sources flows down the Mississippi River.
In the Gulf of Mexico, the nutrient-rich water encourages microscopic organism growth.
When those organisms die, they fall to the bottom of the water column and use up oxygen as they decompose.
That creates areas where oxygen levels are too low to support life which threatens valuable commercial and recreational fisheries.
This year's dead zone is nearly double that of 2009’s when it affected nearly 3,000 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico.


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