Article Title: Reviving Dead Zones
Author: Laurence Mee
Humans again are the reason for another environmental issue: dead zones. Dead zones were created by a process called eutrophication, which is the overenrichment of nutrients in the sea that causes plant growth. An increase in phosphorus and nitrogen lead to a growth of phytoplankton. The phytoplankton blooms turned the water green or brown, depriving the plants that lived on the bottom of the sea of essential sunshine. This created a mass of decaying organic matter and dead plants on the seafloor. Bacteria on the bottom consume oxygen to break down the organic material and dead bodies of organisms, producing hypoxia which killed many organisms.
After reading the article, I am concerned that dead zones could be created so easily. I think we should try to keep the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus at a minimal. Dead zones can be prevented and revived by reducing nutrient runoffs and changing where wastewater goes. Also, an important step is keeping nitrogen and phosphorus on the land and out of the water.
Author: Laurence Mee
- Bodies of dead fish, crabs, and clams wash up on beach shores
- Fishing activity decreased
- Creation of dead zones linked to eutrophication, which is the overenrichment of the sea by nutrients which leads to plant growth.
- Increase in nitrogen and phosphorus enables phytoplankton to grow.
- However, the large mass of phytoplankton populations blocks the sunlight essential to the plants living below them.
- Plants living on the bottom die because of lack of sunlight.
- This leads to a large increase in the amount of decaying organic material at the bottom of the seafloor.
- Masses of organic matter from animal wastes and the dead bodies of organisms multiply during eutrophication.
- The bacteria living off the dead organisms use up seafloor oxygen, causing the deaths of most animals down there.
- Eutrophication leads to an increase in phytoplankton, excess bacterial activity at the bottom, oxygen
depletion, and the death of plants and animals - Ecosystems affected by eutrophication are on the verge of collapsing.
- Agricultural runoff, wastewater, increased animal production factories, use of fertilizer contributed to the increase of phosphorus and nitrogen.
Humans again are the reason for another environmental issue: dead zones. Dead zones were created by a process called eutrophication, which is the overenrichment of nutrients in the sea that causes plant growth. An increase in phosphorus and nitrogen lead to a growth of phytoplankton. The phytoplankton blooms turned the water green or brown, depriving the plants that lived on the bottom of the sea of essential sunshine. This created a mass of decaying organic matter and dead plants on the seafloor. Bacteria on the bottom consume oxygen to break down the organic material and dead bodies of organisms, producing hypoxia which killed many organisms.
After reading the article, I am concerned that dead zones could be created so easily. I think we should try to keep the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus at a minimal. Dead zones can be prevented and revived by reducing nutrient runoffs and changing where wastewater goes. Also, an important step is keeping nitrogen and phosphorus on the land and out of the water.