Biggest Dead Zone Ever Forecast in Gulf of Mexico Predicted To Be The Size Of New Jersey - Polidicks

[QUOTE][IMG]http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/686/cache/dead-zone-2013-forecast_68689_600x450.jpg[/IMG] Unusually robust spring [URL="http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/floods-profile/"]floods[/URL] in the U.S. Midwest are flushing agricultural runoff—namely, nitrogen and phosphorus—into the Gulf and spurring giant algal blooms, which lead to dead zones, or areas devoid of oxygen that occur in the summer. The forecast, developed by the University of Michigan and Louisiana State University with support from the [URL="http://www.noaa.gov/"]U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration[/URL], estimates a Gulf dead zone of between 7,286 and 8,561 square miles (18,870 and 22,172 square kilometers). The largest ever reported in the Gulf, 8,481 square miles (21,965 square kilometers), occurred in 2002. On the flip side, the [URL="http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2005/06/chesapeake-bay/horton-text"]Chesapeake Bay[/URL]—the country's biggest estuary—will likely experience a smaller-than-average dead zone this summer. The forecasts are made using computer models, which are based on U.S. Geological Survey data of nutrient runoff in U.S. rivers and streams. National Geographic talked to forecast contributor [URL="http://www.snre.umich.edu/profile/scavia"]Donald Scavia[/URL], an aquatic ecologist at the University of Michigan, about dead zones—and why we should care about them. [B]Do dead zones have lasting effects on the environment?[/B] [B]There's a sense in the Chesapeake, Lake Erie, and the Gulf of Mexico that repeated dead zones are somehow making systems more sensitive to nutrients. For instance, the same amount of nutrient load now is producing larger dead zones than a decade ago. (See [URL="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2011/05/110531-female-fish-sex-testes-gulf-dead-zone-freshwater-environment/"]"Female Fish Develop 'Testes' in Gulf Dead Zone."[/URL]) [/B] [B]We think it has something to do with residual organic matter that's carried over from one year to the next, or from the changing types of organisms living in the ecosystem. (Also see [URL="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/101025-nsf-oil-dead-zone-video/"]video: "Did Gulf Spill Boost 'Dead Zone'?"[/URL])[/B] [/QUOTE] [URL]http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130621-dead-zone-biggest-gulf-of-mexico-science-environment/[/URL] The gulf has been getting the shit end of the stick lately. I hope all of the sea-life can bounce back from this abuse.

[QUOTE=breakyourfac;41173045][URL]http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130621-dead-zone-biggest-gulf-of-mexico-science-environment/[/URL] The gulf has been getting the shit end of the stick lately. I hope all of the sea-life can bounce back from this abuse.[/QUOTE] It will never bounce back, so long as we live.

[QUOTE=ridinmybike;41173702]It will never bounce back, so long as we live.[/QUOTE] Actually it bouncing back is kind of the definition of evolution, and it's been happening for a while.

[QUOTE=ridinmybike;41173702]It will never bounce back, so long as we live.[/QUOTE] You do know about primary and secondary succession right?

You don't adapt to hypoxia quickly.

This could be a positive, so long as someone harvested the algae and turned it into biodiesel/ethanol. We get fuel, ocean doesn't get shit on as hard.

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;41177280]This could be a positive, so long as someone harvested the algae and turned it into biodiesel/ethanol. We get fuel, ocean doesn't get shit on as hard.[/QUOTE] Turning algae into ethanol (on a large sale) is not very easy as it stands right now. This wont be positive in the slightest.

Whatever you do, you still fuck someone on the other end, so it all is basically the same

Mean while the water in Destin has been as clear as ever the last 3 days during high tide, Visbility's awesome. Probably due to the super moon, though. Stronger tide means high tide pushes all that nasty brown bay water back into the bay, making the rest of the water as clear as the Bahamas right now [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/wpKwVGT.jpg[/IMG]

[QUOTE=breakyourfac;41173045] The gulf has been getting the shit end of the stick lately. I hope all of the sea-life can bounce back from this abuse.[/QUOTE] "Life uh... finds a way"

I didn't know about this kind of phenomena, neat, and terrifying [quote](See "Female Fish Develop 'Testes' in Gulf Dead Zone.")[/quote] umm

[QUOTE=Ast_risk;41173815]Actually it bouncing back is kind of the definition of evolution, and it's been happening for a while.[/QUOTE] Except for the part where it isn't. See, here's the problem, evolution is a gradual process and we're outpacing it, we're over fishing the oceans, super polluting them and on top of that because of the added CO2 in the atmosphere they're becoming much more acidic and fast, that increase in acidity is killing off coral reefs across the world and that's terrible for the oceans because reefs support something like 24% of all marine life. So no, that's not how evolution works, and the oceans are going to be decimated in the next 20 - 30 years if we don't fucking change shit right now.

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;41177280]This could be a positive, so long as someone harvested the algae and turned it into biodiesel/ethanol. We get fuel, ocean doesn't get shit on as hard.[/QUOTE] Doesn't that require alot of energy to do? Like more energy than that's actually produced by the process?

[QUOTE=ridinmybike;41173702]It will never bounce back, so long as we live.[/QUOTE] Well, that's kind of up to us if anyone, so.. never say never.

It's been a while since my last biology class but a dead zone is basically a body of water that's deprived of oxygen to the point where it can't support life any more, right?

[QUOTE=Sir Whoopsalot;41182464]It's been a while since my last biology class but a dead zone is basically a body of water that's deprived of oxygen to the point where it can't support life any more, right?[/QUOTE]It says in the very first sentence of the OP.

A deprived zone the size of New Jersey? Couldn't you just shorten that to "New Jersey?" :v:

[QUOTE=UncleJimmema;41177280]This could be a positive, so long as someone harvested the algae and turned it into biodiesel/ethanol. We get fuel, ocean doesn't get shit on as hard.[/QUOTE] It doesn't work like that, really. Eutrophication is always a negative.

[QUOTE=Sgt Doom;41182948]It says in the very first sentence of the OP.[/QUOTE] Never let it be said that I have impeccable reading comprehension.

[QUOTE=bravehat;41179952]So no, that's not how evolution works, and the oceans are going to be decimated in the next 20 - 30 years if we don't fucking change shit right now.[/QUOTE] Actually, yes. It is. Evolution is adaptation regardless of timescale. If a species dies out, that means inherently that it wasn't superior. Doesn't mean we aren't fucking up the food web, though.

So New Jersey is moving southward? OH GOD! RUN FOR THE HILLS! Seriously though, this shit sucks for the gulf.

[QUOTE=Scotchair;41179414]"Life uh... finds a way"[/QUOTE] [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lS9D6w1GzGY[/media]