Dead Zones

The world’s oceans are experiencing a phenomenon currently referred to as dead zones.  A dead zone can sometimes occur naturally in the ocean. But due to nutrient pollution resulting from human activities they are popping up more and growing faster than ever seen before.   Dead zones are areas of water that do not have enough oxygen to support a living organism.  They can also be found in lakes, or any other body of water.  Generally we see dead zones along costal communities or cities. As stated before dead zones are caused by nutrient pollution.  These are pollutants that are entering our water because of some form of human process.  Generally we are talking about fertilizers from farming, sewage, etc.  Much like the plants on dry land, microscopic plants in the water called phytoplankton benefit from these extra nutrients added into the water.  This causes phytoplankton populations to explode in that area of water, which has an array of negative effects.  These phytoplankton than die and sink to the bottom which is a problem when concerning dissolved oxygen. 

Underwater cameras mounted to remote control robots have scanned the sea floor in these areas and came back with quiet frightening images.  We see dead crabs, fish, coral, and other organisms all along the bottom of the sea floor.  Some organisms like larger fish will move out of the area before the dissolved oxygen content gets to low to survive.  Other organisms like coral, sea slugs, starfish, etc. that either do not move fast or at all are often trapped, and die.   The biggest contributor that we are able to identify at the moment is agricultural run off.  Because most countries have some form of agriculture, we see this worldwide.  And it’s not just the dead zones being affected.  The worlds leading oceanographers are now saying that the dissolved oxygen content is actually going down in the ocean as a whole.  This is a very threatening issue to humans’ wellbeing all over the globe.  The effects of this are truly endless, it can change ocean currents, weather, fish population, and just about anything else relating to the ocean.  We as a species have been extremely negligent in caring for the ocean.  Just recently we pronounced the Great Barrier Reef dead.  And we are making no significant gain in the right direction.  We are increasing environmental regulations here in the US but many say it is just to late.  Also it is hard to take a step in the right direction as a whole when so many underdeveloped countries are functioning just as if there is not a problem.  Fact of the matter is it is expensive to be environmentally responsible, so how do we as a planet get everyone to care more?  That is the question that scientist and world leaders alike are currently trying to figure out.  But with the worlds population growing as it is, we need to increase food production constantly.  This means more farmland, more fertilizers, and more runoff getting to our oceans.