Joey Morrill

The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is killing many animals that live in that region. The

most significant reason that all this is happening is because of the lack of oxygen in the

area. This is being caused by run-off from rivers and streams that run into the Gulf of

Mexico. The dead zones have been

getting bigger ever since the 1960ʻs. The

size is now up to about 245,000 square

kilometers. The most lack of oxygen is

right near the coast. The farther out to

sea the more oxygen there is. Most of

the animals getting killed are bottom

feeders. Some that are included are

shrimp, algae, and plankton. This is really effecting the food chain because if there are

less shrimp then there

are less animals getting

the chance to eat. Also

when animals and

fishes go down deep to

find food they are

getting killed from a lack of oxygen. A way to stop this is to have farmers use less

fertilizers and other chemicals that are dangerous to the environment. The Mississippi

River is the biggest problem because it drains all the way from Minnesota. All of these

chemicals are causing eutrophication which is producing so nutrients that it is taking the

oxygen away from the animals. The plants that take the nutrients are dying and

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/images/deadzone_gulf.jpghttp://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a002900/a002979/dead_zone_summer_web.jpg http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/images/
mississippi_yangtze_pearl.jpg http://www.smm.org/deadzone/causes/top.html
 Joey Morrill

therefore no more oxygen is being produced. This is also making life bad for fishermen

because they go to get some animals that live in that area like shrimp, and they end up

with

nothing because everything is dead. Not only is this problem hurting the environment,

but it is hurting the economy as well. Many shrimp catchers are finding no live shrimp

anywhere near the dead zone. Fishermen are also having a tough time with fishing. No

shrimp or oxygen means no fish anywhere around. The loss of oxygen is also having an

effect on the fishes. The loss of oxygen makes the fishes reproductive organs smaller.

This means that less fish are being born. The Gulf Of Mexico isnʼt the only place where

there are dead zones. Other dead zones have appeared in coastal waters of South

America, China, Japan, and southeast Australia. A study in 2008 counted 405 dead

zones worldwide. One way to stop the dead zones from growing and try to shrink them

is to lower the use of fertilizers. Just by cleaning up the dead zone in the Black Sea, the

dead zone area was reduced by 37%. To help from many animals getting killed all that

needs to happen is the control of fertilizers and the clean up of the area of the dead

zone.

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2008/images/deadzone_gulf.jpghttp://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a002900/a002979/dead_zone_summer_web.jpg http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/images/
mississippi_yangtze_pearl.jpg http://www.smm.org/deadzone/causes/top.html