OTHER COASTAL WATERS ISSUES Gulf of Mexico HypoxiaHarmful Algae Blooms

aka The Dead Zone THE GULF OF MEXICO HYPOXIA ISSUE

Dead Zone Keeps Getting Bigger By Mark Schleifstein The annual dead zone along Louisianas coast has grown to record size this summer

Hypoxia = Low Oxygen (<2 ppm ) Hypoxia = Low Oxygen (<2 ppm ) Anoxia = No oxygen Anoxia = No oxygen WHAT IS 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 cant support most marine life. GULF OF MEXICO HYPOXIA Agricultural Research magazine, October 2002

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

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

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

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

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

HYPOXIC AREA IN THE GULF OF MEXIC0 15 No data Data from N. Rabalais, LUMCON

FACTORS AFFECTING GULF HYPOXIA Fertilization Stratification Eutrophication Channelization

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

THE HYPOXIC ZONE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

Insert your states map with waterbodies here.

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

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

FACTORS AFFECTING GULF HYPOXIA Fertilization Stratification Eutrophication Channelization

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

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.

Goal by No data HYPOXIC AREA IN THE GULF OF MEXIC0 Data from N. Rabalais, LUMCON

HYPOXIA IN THE GULF OF MEXICO

CENR Hypoxia Report Location

HARMFUL ALGAE BLOOMS

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 Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act