The Gulf of Mexico DEAD ZONE

The Gulf of Mexico dead zone occurs between the inner and mind-continental
shelf in the northern Gulf of Mexico. There are many dead zones in our world, the Gulf
of Mexico dead zone is the largest in the world which begins at the Mississippi River
delta and extends westward to the upper Texas coast. Other dead zones can be found
in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea, off the coast of Oregon, in the Chesapeake Bay, Lake
Erie, etc.
So, what is the Gulf of Mexico dead zone? The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is an
area of hypoxic waters. It is an area of low to no oxygen, there were less than 2 part per
million dissolved oxygen. Because of this lack of oxygen, fish and marine life were
killed. The causes of dead zone come from the nutrient enrichment of Mississippi River,
mostly nitrogen and phosphorous. Most of the nitrogen in Mississippi River comes from
chemical used on farming in Minnesota, Iowa, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Tennessee,
Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Those nutrients go into water in many ways such
as through upstream runoff of fertilizers and animal wastes. Resulted of nitrogen and
phosphorus, algal blooms develop and cause the food chain to altered. Them the
oxygen in that area is depleted. Other causes are from weather events.
The process by which a body of water acquires a high concentration of nutrients
promote excessive growth of algae, which deplete the water of available oxygen. The
depletion of oxygen caused a large amount of fish and marine organism kills in the
Black Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Moreover, the Gulf of Mexico is a major source area for
seafood industry, leads to the downfalls of coastal state economies. When the water is
full of nitrogen, these water evaporate and falls back on earth as acid rain.

Resources:
2015 Gulf of Mexico dead zone above average. (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2015.
Dead zone. (2011, January 16). Retrieved September 4, 2015.
The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone. (n.d.). Retrieved September 4, 2015.