Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia, A.K.A. “The Dead Zone”

Abstract The second largest zone of coastal hypoxia (oxygen-depleted waters) in the world is found on the northern Gulf of Mexico continental shelf adjacent to the outflows of the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers. The combination of high freshwater discharge, wind mixing, regional circulation, and summer warming controls the strength of stratification that goes through a well-defined seasonal cycle. The physical structure of the water column and high nutrient loads that enhance primary production lead to an annual formation of the hypoxic water mass that is dominant from spring through late summer. Paleoindicators in dated sediment cores indicate that hypoxic conditions likely began to appear around the turn…

• LB
  Louisiana Board of Regents
• NO
  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration