Question

ANSWER ASAP: Dead zones are caused largely by the input of agricultural fertilizers that stimulate phytoplankton blooms, which die, and are subsequently consumed through bacterial decomposition. Decomposition consumes oxygen, leading to very low dissolved oxygen levels. Imagine you are a NOAA employee asked to investigate and potentially mitigate (reduce) damage as result of this pollution. Write a short essay explaining the situation to your boss, beginning with an explanation of the problem. Your essay should address the following questions; what are the environmental impacts will it cause, and what can be done to reduce the impact?

Answer 1

Answer:

Less oxygen dissolved in the water is often referred to as a “dead zone” because most marine life either dies, or, if they are mobile such as fish, leave the area. Habitats that would normally be teeming with life become, essentially, biological deserts.

Hypoxic zones can occur naturally, but scientists are concerned about the areas created or enhanced by human activity. There are many physical, chemical, and biological factors that combine to create dead zones, but nutrient pollution is the primary cause of those zones created by humans. Excess nutrients that run off land or are piped as wastewater into rivers and coasts can stimulate an overgrowth of algae, which then sinks and decomposes in the water. The decomposition process consumes oxygen and depletes the supply available to healthy marine life.

Dead zones occur in coastal areas around the nation and in the Great Lakes — no part of the country or the world is immune. The second largest dead zone in the world is located in the U.S., in the northern Gulf of Mexico.

Explanation: