The Dead Zone
The Gulf of Mexico is plagued by high levels of nutrients each year. These nutrients trigger large blooms of algae, peaking in the summer. When the algae blooms die, they fall to the bottom and bacteria decompose the algae. This decomposition process consumes most or all of the oxygen in a significant area near the shoreline. Without oxygen, all aquatic life in the area flees or dies. The result is a large area with little or no aquatic life. Watch this video to learn more:
(Courtesy of NASA Mississippi Dead Zone)
The size of the dead zone has trended upward over the last several decades, as shown on the chart below. The increasing levels of nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) have triggered larger algae blooms, leading to larger areas of depleted oxygen. The biggest dead zone in 2002 was approximately the size of New Jersey.
(Courtesy of LUMCON)
The solution to the problem is reducing the nutrient inputs that start the cycle leading to low oxygen. EPA issued an “Urgent Call to Action” report in 2008 for reduced nutrient levels. Unfortunately, from 1980 to 2008, nitrogen levels did not significantly decline. In the area upstream from Clinton, Iowa (including much of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin), nitrogen levels actually increased by 76 percent. Only with major nutrient reductions from upstream states will the Gulf of Mexico be able to maintain aquatic life.
In July of 2008, MCEA, along with conservation groups from eight other states and two national groups, petitioned the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to set and enforce numeric standards to limit nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi River basin, and to clean up those water bodies. Three years later, EPA denied the petition, citing lack of resources.
Denial of the Mississippi River Collaborative Petition