Gulf of Mexico dead zone
credit: Flickr

The infamous Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ could swell this summer to a record 7,829 square miles, or roughly the size of the state of Massachusetts.

The hypoxic zone – or dead zone, an area of little or no oxygen that seriously threatens marine life – threatens to become the second largest in history. The previous record size was 8,776 square miles in 2017.

The Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone occurs every year. According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, it is caused by “excess nutrient pollution from human activities, such as urbanization and agriculture, occurring throughout the Mississippi River watershed.” Heavy spring rains led to high river flows and flooding this year, contributing to this year’s dead zone.

Researchers from Louisiana State University predict that this year’s dead zone could be even larger than the NOAA predicted, closer to 8,717 square miles.

“This past May, discharge in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya rivers was about 67 percent above the long-term average between 1980 and 2018. USGS estimates that this larger-than-average […]