The Dead Zone

Who knew too much of a good thing could really be bad! Well that's whats going on in the northern Gulf of Mexico. Too much nitrogen and phosphorus are entering into the gulf from the mississippi. The levels of nitrogen have increases about seven times from what use to enter into the gulf. The elements are one of the primary factors that are responsible for the algae blooms.
The dead zone, which is a zone in the northern Gulf of Mexico, is an area of low oxygen levels. This condition is known as hypoxia. When oxygen levels fall below 2 mg/L, then it is too low to be able to sustain life. Mobil fish are able to leave the area an survive, but bottom dwellers and plants are not able to leave and therefor die. This, along with the algae blooms, is making it difficult for the northern gulf to sustain marine life.

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~http://www.tulane.edu/~bfleury/envirobio/enviroweb/DeadZone.htm