Record 'dead zone' predicted in Gulf of Mexico By Doyle Rice, USA Today17 July 2011    The majority of land in the Mississippi's watershed is farm land (in green). Each spring, as farmers fertilize their land in preparation for crop season, rain washes fertilizer off the land and into streams, rivers, and then the Gulf [...]

Challenges of keeping Mississippi River in check discussed at meeting of Louisiana coastal authority By Benjamin Alexander-Bloch, Times Picayune 16 June 2011 The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority on Wednesday laid bare the multilayered and often contradictory juggling act that accompanies Mississippi River management, from the responsibility of dredging the river’s navigation channels, to its [...]

Dead zone is a grim reminder By Editorial Daily Comment, LaFourche Parish, LA 16 June 2011This spring has brought huge anxiety about possible flooding caused by high water levels in the Mississippi River. Although the river flooding never got to the stages originally predicted, the Mississippi River water could still have devastating impacts. Thanks to [...]

Major Flooding on Miss. River Likely to Cause Large Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Environmental Protection By Environmental Protection Online17 June 2011Gulf of Mexico's hypoxic zone is predicted to be larger than average this year, due to extreme flooding of the Mississippi River this spring, according to an annual forecast by a team of NOAA-supported [...]

Researchers To Examine Scope and Scale Of Gulf Dead Zone By Texas A& M News and Information Services16 June 2011COLLEGE STATION, June 16, 2011 – Record flooding from the Mississippi River could result in the largest ever “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, and two Texas A&M University oceanographers will try to determine the [...]

Monster dead zone ahead in the Gulf of Mexico: An editorial By Editorial Staff, Times-Picayune 18 June 2011Flooding in the Mississippi River valley has brought widespread misery this spring, but more damage is still ahead as forecasters expect the largest dead zone ever to form in the Gulf of Mexico this summer. Erik Schelzig, The [...]

Are jellyfish a harbinger of dying seas? By Kate Spinner Herald Tribune, Sarasota FL 18 June 2011  Jellyfish, common in the seas for eons, suck so up so much food -- and give back so little -- that a dramatic population increase would gravely threaten the future of oceans worldwide, according to a new study. [...]

The Agriculture Chief as Water Advocate By By Leslie Kaufman, New York Times, Green Blog 3 June 2011Most people do not realize the intense relationship between modern agriculture and water quality. In an article in Friday’s paper, I write about a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River [...]

Chemicals in Farm Runoff Rattle States on the Mississippi By By Leslie Kaufman, NY Times2 June 2011  Charlie Neibergall/Associated Press Lisa P. Jackson, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, right, with Gordon Wassenaar during a visit to his farm in Prairie City, Iowa.  As the surging waters of the Mississippi [...]

Female Fish Develop "Testes" in Gulf Dead Zone By Ker Than for National Geographic News31 May 2011  The Atlantic croaker (seen in a file picture) is a common Gulf fish. Photograph courtesy NOAA   This story is part of a special National Geographic News series about global water issues. A low-oxygen "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico [...]