The dead zone

Water & Watersheds
Environmental and Science Education
Edward Hessler

"It has become a rite of summer," writes NPR's Dan Charles. "Every year, a 'dead zone' appears in the Gulf of Mexico. It's an area where water doesn't have enough oxygen for fish to survive. And every year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration commissions scientists to venture out into the Gulf to measure it.

The dead zone in 2011.

"This week, NOAA announced that this year's dead zone is the biggest one ever measured. It covers 8,776 square miles (2,272,974 ha)— an area the size of New Jersey."

You may read Charles's essay (or listen to it) here. The written piece includes a striking photograph and an equally striking diagram as well as link or two.

h/t NPR, Dan Charles