Hypoxia and Medicine

How many square miles of ecological 'dead zones' exist in estuaries currently?

prior to BP oil spill] 2009 The Gulf of Mexico had a 'Dead Zone' the size of Mass. : Estuary: //ecopath.org/LifeInTheChesapeakeBay/‏ prior to BP oil spill] 2009 The Gulf of Mexico had a 'Dead Zone' the size of Massachussets : Estuary: //ecopath.org/LifeInTheChesapeakeBay/ Frontline: Poisoned Waters (2009) NR Turning a critical eye toward the growing problem of water pollution, this sobering installment of "Frontline" examines the conditions that lead to water contamination and the danger it poses to human health. The program exposes the worsening conditions of Puget Sound on the West Coast and Chesapeake Bay's elimination of the fishing industry over the last 25 years on the East Coast, pointing to the threat of continued runoff from development, agriculture and industry and the impact on the fishing industry in the United States. Genre:Science and Nature Documentaries, TV Documentaries, PBS Documentaries Format:DVD and streaming http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Estuaries External links Animated documentary on Chesapeake Bay NOAA. "Habitats: Estuaries - Characteristics". www.onr.navy.mil. Retrieved 2009-11-17. Estuary From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Redirected from Estuaries) For other uses, see Estuary (disambiguation). Estuary of Klamath River An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea.[1] Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and ocean environments and are subject to both marine influences, such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water; and riverine influences, such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflow of both seawater and freshwater provide high levels of nutrients in both the water column and sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world [2] Most modern-day estuaries were formed during the Holocene epoch by the flooding of river-eroded or glacially-scoured valleys when sea level began to rise about 10,000-12,000 years ago.[3] Estuaries are typically classified by their geomorphological features or by water circulation patterns and can be referred to by many different names, such as bays, harbors, lagoons, inlets, or sounds, although sometimes these water bodies do not necessarily meet the above criteria of an estuary and may be fully saline. Estuaries are amongst the most heavily populated areas throughout the world, with about 60% of the world’s population living along estuaries and the coast. As a result, estuaries are suffering degradation by many factors, including sedimentation from soil erosion from deforestation; overgrazing and other poor farming practices; overfishing; drainage and filling of wetlands; eutrophication due to excessive nutrients from sewage and animal wastes; pollutants including heavy metals, PCBs, radionuclides and hydrocarbons from sewage inputs; and diking or damming for flood control or water diversion.[3]

Public Comments

1. I don't know how many dead zones there are, but I am sure that there are plenty and that this is highly under-reported by the government/oil industry.