A coastal ocean dead zone is mainly caused by the flow of excess nutrients humans use on land, such as fertilizer application. In the Northern Gulf of Mexico, anthropogenic nutrients delivered by the ...

But all that mixing also stirs up low-oxygen zones deep in the water, bringing them much nearer the surface than usual, threatening organisms that need higher oxygen concentrations to survive.

Nutrient run-off triggers dead zones. After the 1970s, dead zones became more widespread, ... But they float near the surface of the ocean, where they can soak up available sunlight.

Annual spring rains wash the nutrients used in fertilizers and sewage into the Mississippi. That fresh water, less dense than ocean water, sits on top of the ocean, preventing oxygen from mixing ...

If you have ever heard someone talk about a “dead zone” in the Gulf of America (formerly the Gulf of Mexico), you might wonder what that means. According to NOAA, ...

The North Pacific Transition Zone, he explained, is one of these critical boundaries, as this region separates low-nutrient ocean whirlpools from nutrient ecosystems in the north.

Along with nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, iron is essential for the growth of microscopic phytoplankton in the ocean. However, a new study led by oceanographers at the University of ...

Even if you are far from a factory, the ocean can still feel its smoke. A new study led by scientists at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa shows that iron from burning coal and making steel is ...

Hurricanes stir deep ocean layers, bringing nutrients and low-oxygen zones to surface, study finds. by Lorena Anderson, University of California - Merced ...