Satellite image of the northern Gulf of Mexico/Mississippi Delta, dead zone in light blue, January 2003As summer comes to the Gulf of Mexico, it brings with it each year a giant “dead zone” devoid of fish and other aquatic life. Expanding over the past several decades, this area now can span up to 21,000 square kilometers, which is larger than the state of New Jersey. A similar situation is found on a smaller scale in the Chesapeake Bay, where since the 1970s a large lifeless zone has become a yearly phenomenon, sometimes shrouding 40 percent of the bay.
Worldwide, there are some 146 dead zones—areas of water that are too low in dissolved oxygen to sustain life. Since the 1960s, the number of dead zones has doubled each decade. Many are seasonal, but some of the low-oxygen areas persist year-round.
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update41.htm
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Source: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC, and UNEP
http://www.earth-policy.org/Updates/Update41.htm
Please Click Photo
Source: Jacques Descloitres, MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA/GSFC, and UNEP