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OTHER COASTAL WATERS ISSUES

Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia. Harmful Algae Blooms. OTHER COASTAL WATERS ISSUES. THE GULF OF MEXICO HYPOXIA ISSUE. aka The “Dead Zone”. Dead Zone Keeps Getting Bigger By Mark Schleifstein The annual dead zone along Louisiana’s coast has grown to record size this summer. WHAT IS “HYPOXIA”?.

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OTHER COASTAL WATERS ISSUES

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  1. Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Harmful Algae Blooms OTHER COASTAL WATERS ISSUES

  2. THE GULF OF MEXICOHYPOXIA ISSUE aka The “Dead Zone”

  3. Dead Zone Keeps Getting Bigger By Mark Schleifstein The annual dead zone along Louisiana’s coast has grown to record size thissummer

  4. WHAT IS “HYPOXIA”? • Hypoxia = Low Oxygen (<2 ppm ) • Anoxia = No oxygen

  5. GULF OF MEXICO HYPOXIA “Nitrate-nitrogen is a major contributor to the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. It is washed from fields to drainage ditches to streams, which feed into rivers and, ultimately, the Gulf of Mexico. Just as it helps crops grow on land, the nutrients also helps algae grow in water. Unfortunately, when the algae start to die and decompose, the oxygen in the water is depleted, creating an area that can’t support most marine life.” Agricultural Research magazine, October 2002

  6. 7,778 sq. miles For Illustration Only Based on Data From N. Rabalais, LUMCON

  7. 1,750 sq. miles For Illustration Only Based on Data From N. Rabalais, LUMCON

  8. 8,006 sq. miles For Illustration Only Based on Data From N. Rabalais, LUMCON

  9. 8,500 sq. miles For Illustration Only Based on Data From N. Rabalais, LUMCON

  10. For Illustration Only Based on Data From N. Rabalais, LUMCON

  11. HYPOXIC AREA IN THEGULF OF MEXIC0 No data 15 Data from N. Rabalais, LUMCON

  12. FACTORS AFFECTING GULF HYPOXIA • Fertilization • Stratification • Eutrophication • Channelization

  13. Annual nitrogen inputs to the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin* Taken from CENR publication “Draft: Integrated Assessment of Hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico.”

  14. THE HYPOXIC ZONE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

  15. Insert your state’s map with waterbodies here.

  16. For Illustration Only Based on Data From N. Rabalais, LUMCON

  17. Calcasieu River Mermentau River Vermilion River Bayou Teche Atchafalaya River Bayou Terrebonne Bayou Lafourche Mississippi River

  18. FACTORS AFFECTING GULF HYPOXIA • Fertilization • Stratification • Eutrophication • Channelization

  19. FINAL HYPOXIA ACTION PLAN – January 2001 • Voluntary Approach to Reduce Nutrient Discharge to Gulf

  20. Coastal Goal:By the year 2015, subject to the availability of additional resources, reduce the 5-year running average extent of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone to less than 1,930 square miles through implementation of specific, practical, and cost-effective voluntary actions by all States, Tribes, and all categories of sources and removals within the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin to reduce the annual discharge of nitrogen into the Gulf.

  21. Goal by 2015 HYPOXIC AREA IN THEGULF OF MEXIC0 No data 15 Data from N. Rabalais, LUMCON

  22. HYPOXIA IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

  23. CENR Hypoxia Report Location www.nos.noaa.gov

  24. HARMFUL ALGAE BLOOMS

  25. Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act • Passed by Congress in 1998 • Inter-Agency Task Force on Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia • National Assessment on HAB • National Assessment on Hypoxia • Assessment AND Plan for Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico

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