ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN — U.S. researchers forecast the annual summer hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico to be roughly the same size as Connecticut.

The hypoxic region, or known as “dead zone”, forms after the Mississippi River flows downstream from farmland across the central U.S. into the Gulf of Mexico during the spring and early summer.

The water contains high levels of nitrogen and phosphorus which trigger the algae growth.

Algae sink to the bottom when they die, where they decompose and consume the oxygen in the water.

The nutrient-rich water stays on top of the Gulf water, blocking oxygen from getting into the bottom of the water unless stirred by a tropical storm or hurricane.

The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force tried to reduce the extent of Gulf hypoxic zone to 1,950 square miles by 2015, but has made little progress so far.
“And while the latest forecast calls for an average-size dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, it is important to recognize that these averages are unacceptable. The bottom line is that we will never reach the action plan's goal of 1,950 square miles until more serious actions are taken to reduce the loss of Midwest fertilizers into the Mississippi River system,” Don Scavia, aquatic ecologist and director of the Graham Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan said a statement.