A dead zone occurs at the bottom of a body of water when there isn't enough oxygen in the water to support marine life.
This year's zone should be about 2,116 square miles, which is slightly smaller than the size of Delaware.
Nutrients such as nitrogen can spur the growth of algae, and when the algae die, their decay consumes oxygen faster than it can be brought down from the surface, NOAA said. As a result, fish, shrimp and crabs can suffocate. Nancy Rabalais, professor at Louisiana State University and report lead author, said that waves also pushed the low-oxygen area deeper than it usually is found. “The map is very different this year,” she said.
Weather – including wind speed, wind direction, precipitation and temperature – affect the size of the dead zone, which usually fades away by autumn.
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