OTHER COASTAL WATERS ISSUES

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OTHER COASTAL WATERS ISSUES
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THE GULF OF MEXICOHYPOXIA ISSUE

• aka
• The Dead Zone

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

• Hypoxia Low Oxygen (lt2 ppm )
• Anoxia No oxygen

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GULF OF MEXICO 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.

Agricultural Research magazine, October 2002
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7,778 sq. miles
For Illustration Only Based on Data From N.
Rabalais, LUMCON
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1,750 sq. miles
For Illustration Only Based on Data From N.
Rabalais, LUMCON
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8,006 sq. miles
For Illustration Only Based on Data From N.
Rabalais, LUMCON
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8,500 sq. miles
For Illustration Only Based on Data From N.
Rabalais, LUMCON
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For Illustration Only Based on Data From N.
Rabalais, LUMCON
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HYPOXIC AREA IN THEGULF OF MEXIC0
No data
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Data from N. Rabalais, LUMCON
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FACTORS AFFECTING GULF HYPOXIA

• Fertilization
• Stratification
• Eutrophication
• Channelization

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Annual nitrogen inputs to the Mississippi/Atchafal
aya River Basin
Taken from CENR publication Draft Integrated
Assessment of Hypoxia in the northern Gulf of
Mexico.
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THE HYPOXIC ZONE IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
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Insert your states map with waterbodies here.
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For Illustration Only Based on Data From N.
Rabalais, LUMCON
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Calcasieu River Mermentau
River Vermilion River Bayou
Teche Atchafalaya River
Bayou Terrebonne Bayou Lafourche
Mississippi River
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FACTORS AFFECTING GULF HYPOXIA

• Fertilization
• Stratification
• Eutrophication
• Channelization

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FINAL HYPOXIA ACTION PLAN January 2001

• Voluntary Approach to Reduce Nutrient Discharge
  to Gulf

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• 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.

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HYPOXIC AREA IN THEGULF OF MEXIC0
No data
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Data from N. Rabalais, LUMCON
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HYPOXIA IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
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CENR Hypoxia Report Location

• www.nos.noaa.gov

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HARMFUL ALGAE BLOOMS
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Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and
Control Act

• 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