The annual Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" is larger-than-average this summer

The annual Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" is larger-than-average this summer.

NOAA Scientists said on Wednesday that this year's dead zone is over 6300 square miles, making it a little larger than the state of Connecticut.

In an average year, the dead zone is about 5500 square miles; the largest ever recorded was 8800 square-miles in 2017.

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.

The amount of nitrogen entering the Gulf of Mexico each spring has increased by about 300 percent since the 1960s, mainly due to increased agricultural runoff.

The pollution has caused an estimated $2.4 billion in damage to fisheries and marine habitat every year since 1980.

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