Dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico may reach nearly 21,000 km2

According to NOAA's report (American National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Delegation), the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, where oxygen is low, is capable of covering nearly 21,000 square kilometers.

Scientists predict the area of ​​the dead zone, which contains too little oxygen to sustain the life of marine life, will reach nearly a record level.The dead zone is located in the Gulf of Mexico, the ninth largest in the world, bordering America, Mexico and Cuba.

NOAA said unusually high spring rainfall in many parts of the Mississippi River basin was a major contributor to this year's death zone expansion. Accordingly, the record rainfall brings a large amount of fertilizer and other nutrients downstream to the sea.

Here, these substances cause dead algae, decompose on the ocean floor and use up oxygen along the waters from Louisiana to Texas (USA).

The widespread flood created a large dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

This year, the area lack of oxygen can cover nearly 21,000 km2, an area roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts (USA) or Slovenia, a country in Southern Europe.

During the annual field trip in July, the research group Nancy Rabalais of the Maritime Association of Louisiana University (USA) estimated that last year, the dead zone accounted for more than 22,000 km2.

Meanwhile, the record number recorded in 2017 is 22,700 km ² , close to the area of ​​Turkey.

The calculation of the annual dead area to assess the efforts to reduce the Mississippi River pollution.

Nearly two decades ago, 12 US 31 task forces involved in the Mississippi River water have set a goal of reducing dead zones from an average of about 15,000 square kilometers to 4,900 square kilometers.

Don Scavia, an aquatic researcher at the University of Michigan, an emeritus professor at the School of Environment and Sustainability (USA), said: "While the death zone is bigger this year than usual because of floods, the section That long-term goal has not changed ".

1. "Dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico expands record
2. Giant dead zone can appear on the ocean in 2030