The Gulf of Mexico “Dead Zone” is expected to cover an area of 4,761 square miles this summer ranging from Louisiana to Texas. That’s according to LSU scientist Dr. Nancy Rabalais who said the low oxygen area in the gulf, where it’s hard for living resources to survive, is about 500 square miles less than previous years but still a disappointing number.
“We’re way above our goal but it’s predicted to be an average year. I never say it will be because you never know what kind of a storm will come through,” Rabalais said.
The current size of the “Dead Zone” is two and half times larger than the goal set in 2001 making it about three times the size of Rhode Island. Rabalais said she’s very disappointed due to the lack of change.
“The goal time was originally by 2015 and the Hypoxia task force changed that to the year 2035 because they could see they weren’t going to accomplish it,” Rabalais said.
The low oxygen conditions began 50 years ago due to agricultural practices in the Midwest and the nitrate loading hasn’t reduced since. Rabalais said the “Dead Zone” also has an economic side effect.
“There is a good economic analysis that shows that the marketable price declines as the area of the low oxygen increases,” Rabalais said.
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