Monday - August 01, 2005
Nature’s Delicate Balance
OK, gang! Here’s the latest scoop on the cycle of nature in a nutshell: (1) every spring and summer, large amounts of fresh water enter the Gulf Of Mexico from spring melts and rains, (2) this causes algae blooms which create dead zones in the Gulf, fish avoid these areas and they become lifeless, (3) the only cure for these dead zones is .... hurricanes, which stir up the waters and keep things mixed up in the Gulf. And here you thought hurricanes were just an evil plot by Muslims in Africa or caused by global warming. Silly humans! Mother Nature knows what she’s doing ....
NEW ORLEANS (AP)—The dead zone off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas is nearly the size of Connecticut and much larger than federal researchers had predicted earlier this year, according to a new survey. An annual weeklong cruise led by researchers with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium found an area of low-oxygen measuring 4,564 square miles and extending from the Mississippi River to the Texas border. On average, the dead zone has measured about 4,800 square miles since 1985.
The dead zone, also known as hypoxia, forms each spring and summer as fresh water enters the Gulf of Mexico and causes large algae blooms. The algae die and sink to the bottom of the Gulf, where they decompose, using up oxygen in the deeper, saltier water. Fish avoid the low-oxygen water, and bottom-living organisms are killed. The dead zone could in the long-term affect the overall health of the Gulf’s marine species, said Nancy Rabalais, a leading hypoxia researcher with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium. She said researchers are studying how the dead zone affects the growth and reproduction of marine species. The dead zone could grow much larger this year—perhaps as large as 6,200 square miles—if major storms do not stir up the Gulf in the coming months, Rabalais said.
Posted by The Skipper
on 08/01/2005 at 08:40 PM
Filed Under: • Climate-Weather • Science-Technology •
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