Hypoxia and Medicine

How is the “dead zone” created in the Gulf of Mexico? Explain the origins of the problem, what is currently?

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1. Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world's oceans. They have been increasing since oceanographers began noting them in the 1970s. They usually occur near inhabited coastlines, where aquatic life is most concentrated. The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is because the Mississippi River dumps high-nutrient runoff from its huge drainage basin (the heart of the US agricultural region) into this area. Chemical nutrients such as fertilizers and animal waste cause an increase in plant growth and decay and a decrease in oxygen, poor water quality, etc (called eutrophication).