Characterization of Hypoxia

Date

1999-05

Authors

Rabalais, Nancy N.
Turner, R. Eugene
Justic, Dubravko
Dortch, Quay
Wiseman, William J., Jr.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

NOAA Coastal Ocean Program

Abstract

Nutrient overenrichment from human activities is one of the major stresses affecting coastal ecosytems. There is increasing concern in many areas around the world that an oversupply of nutrients from multiple sources is having pervasive ecological effects on shallow coastal and estuarine areas. These effects include reduced light penetration, loss of aquatic habitat, harmful algal blooms, a decrease in dissolved oxygen (or hypoxia), and impacts on living resources. The largest zone of oxygen-depleted coastal waters in the United States, and the entire western Atlantic Ocean, is found in the northern Gulf of Mexico on the Louisiana-Texas continental shelf. This zone is influenced by the freshwater discharge and nutrient flux of the Mississippi River system. This report describes the seasonal, interannual, long-term variability in hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico and its relationship to nutrient loading. It also documents the relative roles of natural and human-induced factors in determining the size and duration of the hypoxic zone.

Description

167 pages; available for download at the link below.

Keywords

Gulf of Mexico, Dead Zone, water pollution, anoxia, hypoxia

Citation