Nutrient overloading and algal blooms lead to eutrophication (link to USGS definition), which has been shown to reduce benthic (link to definition) biomass and biodiversity. Hypoxic water supports fewer organisms and has been linked to massive fish kills in the Black Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

Human activity in the Midwestern United States impacts not only the surrounding land but also the water in rivers and streams, which run all the way into the Gulf of Mexico. Scientists have identified several human actions, both historical and ongoing, that have contributed to major changes in the Gulf’s waters and ecosystems.

This vast area of low oxygen poses a substantial threat to Gulf of Mexico ecosystems, affecting diverse marine species and impacting the ecological balance. This article dives into the causes and consequences of the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone, from the biological processes driving hypoxia to the economic and environmental ripple effects.

Trophic conditions based on physicochemical parameters, phytoplankton and submerged aquatic vegetation along the northern coast of Yucatan show the influence of Gulf of Mexico LME and Caribbean Sea LME waters, seasonal upwelling and polluted inputs from submarine groundwater discharges.

NOAA-supported scientists announced today that this year’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” — an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and marine life — is approximately 6,705 square miles, the 12th largest zone on record in 38 years of measurement. This figure equates to more than 4 million acres of habitat potentially unavailable to ...