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An area of low to no oxygen that can kill marine ecosystems and fish is expected to impact an area of 4,155 square miles. This is smaller than the average size of 5,364 square miles, according to NOAA data.
A team of scientists including a University of Michigan aquatic ecologist is forecasting a summer "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico that will cover an estimated 4,155 square miles, which is below the 5,364-square-mile average over the 36-year history of dead zone measurements in the region.
Scientists forecast the low-oxygen zone will be around 4,100 square miles this summer, despite federal efforts to reduce nutrient runoff from fertilizer use on Midwest farms.
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of $6 million in funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to support Tribal Nations across the Mississippi/Atchafalaya River Basin (MARB) in reducing nutrient pollution on Tribal lands in the Basin.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law includes $60 million for actions to support water quality improvements in the Mississippi River watershed and Gulf of Mexico through the Gulf Hypoxia Program GHP over five years.