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Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world's oceans and large lakes. Hypoxia occurs when dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration falls to or below 2 ml of O 2 /liter. [ 2 ] When a body of water experiences hypoxic conditions, aquatic flora and fauna begin to change behavior in order to reach sections of water with higher oxygen levels.
Red circles show the location and size of many dead zones (in 2008). Black dots show dead zones of unknown size. The size and number of marine dead zones—areas where the deep water is so low in dissolved oxygen that sea creatures cannot survive (except for some specialized bacteria)—have grown in the past half-century. [19]
In mountaineering, the death zone refers to altitudes above which the pressure of oxygen is insufficient to sustain human life for an extended time span. This point is generally agreed as 8,000 m (26,000 ft), where atmospheric pressure is less than 356 millibars (10.5 inHg; 5.16 psi). [ 1 ]
Scientists prepare to collect near-bottom water aboard the R/V Pelican to verify oxygen measurements used to determine the size of the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone. (NOAA/LUMCON/LSU) A "dead zone ...
Every spring, an area appears when the water doesn't have enough oxygen to support fish and other marine life. Skip to main content. News. 24/7 help. For premium support please call: ...
A 'dead zone' off the Gulf coast is larger than NOAA predicted. The massive area poses danger to marine life, and recovery could take decades. A 'dead zone' is growing in the Gulf of Mexico.
If oxygen depletion progresses to hypoxia, fish kills can occur and invertebrates like worms and clams on the bottom may be killed as well. Still frame from an underwater video of the sea floor. The floor is covered with crabs, fish, and clams apparently dead or dying from oxygen depletion. Hypoxia may also occur in the absence of pollutants.
The oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), sometimes referred to as the shadow zone, is the zone in which oxygen saturation in seawater in the ocean is at its lowest. This zone occurs at depths of about 200 to 1,500 m (700–4,900 ft), depending on local circumstances.