The
term 'dead zone' is most likely an unfamiliar term to most people. Dead
zones are an area in a body of water such as earth’s oceans or large lakes that
have a much lower oxygen level than it should have. This not only affects the
water quality, but it leads to a decrease in the wildlife that lives there. When
the oxygen level in water decreases drastically, this leaves the animals with
two choices which are to flee from their habitat or they can die. This should
not be the case and is a problem occurring in known places such as the Gulf of
Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay. There are over 400 dead zones around the world.
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| This shows where the dead zones are located around the world. |
As
mentioned before, this is a severe environmental problem that directly affects
the wildlife such as crabs, fish, and many other organisms. Fish have a hard
time getting away from these dead zone areas because they need water to breathe
and getting out of the oxygen depleted waters is not a choice for them. Other
animals such as frogs and crabs can live and move on land so they have a chance
on getting to another spot to live. These creatures are majorly affected but so
are their homes as well. These low oxygen levels end up destroying the animals’
habitats and therefore leads to them searching to find new ones. This is an
issue that is occurring presently and there are many researchers investigating
it and trying to find solutions to help. Possible solutions that have been
mentioned are ways such as trying to decrease the amount of fertilizers used or
even having different products used that do not have the harmful nitrates in
them. This would be for if industrial agriculture is the main contributor.
There are many possible contributors to dead zones but researchers have not
pin-pointed the main one.
Simmons, Amy. (2010). Scientists fear mass extinction as oceans choke. ABC News. Retrieved from https://nofishleft.wordpress.com/tag/marine-dead-zones/
Simmons, Amy. (2010). Scientists fear mass extinction as oceans choke. ABC News. Retrieved from https://nofishleft.wordpress.com/tag/marine-dead-zones/
Cohen, A. M. (2009). Oceans' dead zones on the rise.
The Futurist, 43(6), 7-8. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/218583270?accountid=14541
From the blog you cited, "dead zones range in size from one square mile to 27,000 square miles" and they add up to the size of the state Oregon. I think the reason why this issue has been largely ignored is because compared to all the ocean water on Earth, an area the size of Oregon seems irrelevant. I had no idea these places even existed. But as we learned from Rachel Carson, tiny changes can propagate up into huge disasters. I fear issues like these won't be even acknowledged because of how slowly it grows.
ReplyDeleteReading your blog post puts dead zones into a much more clear prospective for me. I am curious about how nitrates diminish the oxygen supply in water though. Is it a chemical reaction that changes the oxygen somehow? Or is it that the nitrates are harmful to plant life underwater for other reasons? I think that your suggestion to either use different fertilizers or take them out all together is a good idea though, even if this is not the direct cause of dead zones specifically because they are known to harm the environment in many other ways.
ReplyDeleteSo to my understanding, the nutrients in the nitrogen and phosphorus ignite algae and phytoplankton blooms which is the rapid accumulation of algae in a water system. As the blooms die, they drop to the bottom and decompose which takes up a large portion of oxygen in the water. There is a great picture that describes this process on the "no fish left" source i cited at the bottom if you are interested.
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ReplyDeleteI did not realize there is a dead zone so close to us. I heard about the decrease in sea life, but I did not know the cause. Is a dead zone something people can recognize without tests? This is something that will not only affect the wildlife near water sources. People who depend on fish to making a living and eat fish as their main meal source will also be affected. As you said, fertilizers are one of the sources of this destruction because the nitrate included. Researcher proposed using alternative ingredients. Maybe an organic fertilizer would solve this part of the problem. In the past, farmers did not have all of these chemicals. They succeeded in farming and gardening. We should revert to their way growing plants and food.
ReplyDeleteI did not realize there is a dead zone so close to us. I heard about the decrease in sea life, but I did not know the cause. Is a dead zone something people can recognize without tests? This is something that will not only affect the wildlife near water sources. People who depend on fish to making a living and eat fish as their main meal source will also be affected. As you said, fertilizers are one of the sources of this destruction because the nitrate included. Researcher proposed using alternative ingredients. Maybe an organic fertilizer would solve this part of the problem. In the past, farmers did not have all of these chemicals. They succeeded in farming and gardening. We should revert to their way growing plants and food.
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ReplyDeleteWhen you are talking about dead zones and you are saying that marine life leaves the area because it's unlivable or marine life dies, which one is most common? I would expect most fish to die because they cannot breath the water that they are in because there is no oxygen. I knew that there were many dead zones around the world but I did not realize that there were over 400 of them; this seems like way too many. What are some other solutions to preventing, or reversing dead zones? What are some other animals that are affected by this problem?
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