Is the Gulf's "dead zone" coming back to life?

You may have heard of the Gulf’s Dead Zone, millions of acres in the northern Gulf waters, where marine life cannot survive. The Dead Zone develops every summer and can be as big as the state of New Jersey. But this summer, scientists have found the Gulf’s Dead Zone is down by 30% from last year.

NOAA-supported scientists announced that this summer’s dead zone is approximately 4,402 square miles, about the size of Delaware and Rhode Island combined. It marks the 15th smallest measurement since records began in 1985, what scientists call “an encouraging sign for the future of this area”.

There are hundreds of dead zones in coastal waters around the world but ours is one of the biggest.

So, why does this happen year after year?

We look to the Mississippi watershed, a drainage system that connects 31 states, even parts of Canada. Whatever flows into it eventually makes its way down to the Gulf, but it’s not pure, clean water.

Fertilizer from farms and lawns, urban runoff, and discharges from sewage treatment plants all flow into the Big Muddy. This ultimately leads to excess nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorous, flowing into the Gulf. Those extra nutrients help plants like algae grow out of control, consuming oxygen in the water. This is called hypoxia and creates a literal dead zone. Fish and shrimp leave the area, and anything that can't swim away, like crabs, worms, and clams, die.

How can we continue to reduce the dead zone’s size in years to come? One thing we can all do is implement better fertilizer practices to limit excess nutrients from entering our waterways.