2019 Shelfwide Cruise
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:
Large 2019 dead zone in Gulf of Mexico
Deanna Conners / EarthSky 16 August 2019 This year’s Gulf of Mexico dead zone of oxygen-depleted waters is the 8th largest ever recorded. A dead zone of oxygen-depleted waters forms every summer in the Gulf of Mexico [...]
The Never Ending Story
TUWaterWays Water News and More from the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law & Policy 16 August 2019 In deciding what items to highlight in this week’s TUWW we did what we always do. We culled [...]
Why is Louisiana seeing more ‘showers on steroids,’ intense downpours these days?
Charles Lussier / The Advocate 11 August 2019 If it seems like rainfalls in south Louisiana are becoming more intense and flash flooding more frequent, it’s not your imagination. A new research study led by [...]
Hurricane Barry v. Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone: Who Won?
TUWaterWays Water News and More from the Tulane Institute on Water Resources Law and Policy 8 August 2019 Remember Hurricane Barry? It was the storm that coincided with elevated Mississippi River levels and, consequently, looked [...]
NOAA, partners to report on annual Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ monitoring cruise
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Media Advisory 2 July 2019, Updated 1 Aug 2019 High Mississippi River outflow and Hurricane Barry could influence final size NOAA and its academic partners will report on their recent [...]
Tropical disturbance eyes Gulf, south Louisiana: Major rainfall possible, experts say
Mark Schleifstein / The Times Picayune 8 July 2019 National Hurricane Center forecasters believe a tropical depression or storm is very likely to form later this week in the Gulf of Mexico, but they're hedging their [...]
All 21 of Mississippi’s beaches are closed because of toxic algae
Michelle Lou / CNN 7 July 2019 (CNN)Summer's the perfect time to hit the beach -- unless you live in Mississippi. Along the state's Gulf Coast, all 21 of the state's beaches have been shut [...]