What is hypoxia?
Hypoxia, or low oxygen, is an environmental phenomenon where the concentration of dissolved oxygen in the water column decreases to a level that can no longer support living aquatic organisms. Hypoxic areas, or “Dead Zones,” have increased in duration and frequency across our planet’s oceans since first being noted in the 1970s.
The largest hypoxic zone currently affecting the United States, and the second largest hypoxic zone worldwide, is the northern Gulf of Mexico adjacent to the Mississippi River.
Gulf hypoxia in the news:
Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ will persist for decades
By Doyle Rice / USA Today March 26, 2018 The annual “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, which last year was the size of New Jersey, will continue for several decades, a new study said. A [...]
Study Characterizes Dissolved Organic Carbon Cycling in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
GULF OF MEXICO RESEARCH INITIATIVE MARCH 20, 2018 Researchers analyzed dissolved organic carbon from water column samples collected in five regions to establish baseline data about its relative persistence and cycling in the northern Gulf [...]
Taming the mighty Mississippi
By Todd C. Frankel / The Washington Post March 14, 2018 A picaresque tour of infrastructure reveals a struggle for control all along America’s great river, full of questions about what it once was, doubts about [...]
Low Oxygen Levels, Coral Bleaching Getting Worse in Oceans
By Seth Borenstein / U.S. News January 4, 2018 Two new studies show global warming is making oceans sicker, depleting oxygen and harming coral reefs. Global warming is making the world's oceans sicker, depleting them [...]
Corn’s Ancestor Could Help It Go Green
By Alex Fox / EOS January 4, 2018 The grandfather of modern corn may hold the key to reducing its need for chemical fertilizers. Ears of corn (maize), showing a wide range of colors [...]
Oceans suffocating as huge dead zones quadruple since 1950, scientists warn
By Damian Carrington / The Guardian January 4, 2018 Areas starved of oxygen in open ocean and by coasts have soared in recent decades, risking dire consequences for marine life and humanity Ocean dead zones [...]
Oxygen levels in Earth’s oceans continue to drop
By UPI January 4, 2018 Regions of low-oxygen and no-oxgyen in Earth’s oceans are growing in size and number, according to a new study — the most comprehensive survey of ocean oxygen levels to date. [...]