From NOAA’s National Ocean Service YouTube

FROM 2019: Less oxygen dissolved in the water is often referred to as a “dead zone” because most marine life either dies, or, if they are mobile such as fish, leave the area.

The second largest dead zone in the world is located in the U.S., in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

The 2019 Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone, or Dead Zone, measures 6,952 square miles. This is the 8th largest dead zone in the Gulf since mapping of the zone began in 1985!

If the amount of fertilizer, sewage, and urban runoff dumping into the Gulf isn’t reduced, the dead zone will continue to wreak havoc on the ecosystem and threaten some of the most productive fisheries in the world.

Original video source:

https://oceantoday.noaa.gov/happenowdeadzone/

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