NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (10 July 2008) — The boat headed out in the dark of night from Chauvin, Louisiana. Overnight Captain Craig Lebeof steered the Research vessel Pelican toward a series of water testing locations about 45 miles off the Louisiana coast. They're headed for what's called a dead zone. A dead zone is an area in the ocean without enough oxygen to sustain life. The Black Sea has the largest dead zone in the world. The second largest is right off Louisiana's coast. Experts said it's growing every year, but Louisiana scientists are trying to decrease it. Onboard, a crew of researchers and scientists with LUMCON, the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium prepare to go to work. Lora Pride is their team leader. "This is the first time since I can remember, that it's been a nice trip. So you guys really got lucky," Pride said. Scientists are testing for 'hypoxia'- the lack of oxygen in water. It's caused by an overabundance of nutrients -- things like nitrates and phosphorous -- that flow out of the Mississippi River. "As the summer months set in hypoxia becomes more severe," Pride said. Scientists said a virtual dead zone exists between 5 and 30 meters below the ocean surface and it's getting bigger because of this year's flooding in the mid-west coupled with increased corn production. "If fish and other animals are mobile, they'll leave the area. But the things like clams and mussels and worms that can't leave the area, they'll die," Pride said. Scientists have been monitoring the dead zone for nearly 15 years, they do this is with something called a 'CTD' device, which checks water's conductivity, temperature and depth. The scientists drop Niskin Bottles to the bottom of the Gulf to take readings. "They have sensors on the bottom that will test the oxygen levels. We'll find its level, take another sample and we usually take a sample at the surface," Pride said. Once the canisters are filled the CTD is hoisted onboard and the samples taken inside to a makeshift lab. "The oxygen is reading 5.30 milligrams per liter which is good," Pride said. They would collect water at more than 10 locations. At the farthest checkpoint from shore, 45 miles out, there was plenty of oxygen in the water. A good indicator of this Pride said, was the number of shrimp boats in the area. But oxygen levels decrease as we head closer to shore. Less than two milligrams of oxygen per liter of water is considered hypoxic. Few fish survive and the water is a greenish color, not clear blue. When the crew gathers water during our trip, samples indicate .08 per liter, close to no oxygen at all. "It's usually hypoxic at this time of year in June in the Gulf, but I don't think it's usually this low," Melissa Baustion said. Baustion is watching the oxygen levels closely. She is a LSU Ph.D. student, one of 11 scientists and students onboard collecting data for research projects. Baustion and other researchers will take phytoplankton samples back to the lab to see what kinds of algae are in the water. Outside Baustion and I look at algae, usually a good indicator of hypoxia, especially in summer. "In the summer algae will start dying and sinking to the bottom. And bacteria love dead algae, so they're going to decompose it like crazy and consume the oxygen and that's why hypoxia develops. This is called Sargassum and I've heard that it comes from the Sargasso Sea," Baustion said. "A closer look reveals a tiny shrimp and a small crab, evidence that this testing location has enough oxygen to sustain life." | | A dead zone is an area in the ocean without enough oxygen to sustain life. Baustion also collects mud samples for a separate project to test if other microorganisms can produce oxygen in the water. "One of the questions we're asking is if benthic-photosynthesis is existing on the sea floor in the hypoxia. And the reason why we're interested in that is because benthic-photosynthesis could produce some oxygen that would help maybe a little bit in the dead zone," Baustion said. This is the meandering of the Mississippi River, back on land the head of LUMCON research, LSU professor Nancy Rabalais, brings the findings to state and federal leaders at the annual hypoxia task force meeting. "The science is what's driven the ability to say we need to do something," Rabalais said. She has helped state and federal leaders create the second-ever action plan designed to reduce nutrient runoff from 31 states emptying into the Mississippi river. This year all states signed the plan, something Rabalais said was difficult before. "They felt like in the Midwest, the agricultural community was being targeted too much for the problem," said Rabalais. The Iowa Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship knows nutrient runoff must be dealt with. "There is no doubt agriculture contributes a significant amount of nutrients in the river, but municipalities and industries do as well. So what's important is all sectors of our communities work together," said Rep. Dean Lemke. Lemke said mid-western states are already doing their part to help alleviate the problem. "We have a particular program, the 'conservation reserve enhancement program' which is specifically targeted to nitrate reduction through building wetlands, which will reduce 40-90% of the nitrate from the cropland that drains to them," Lemke said. Farmers are on a waiting list for the program. But Lemke believes $2-4 billion in federal funding and incentives will be needed to help them achieve the 45% nitrate reduction outlined in the 2008 action plan. "I'm very hopeful and positive for the future," Lemke said. "It won't happen fast, nor will it be cheap." The EPA said accountability will come in the form of an annual report, operating budget plans and agency programs and activities. In 2013 the hypoxia task force will take another look at the dead zone to measure their progress. Scientists said a tropical storm or hurricane would decrease the dead zone because it would stir up ocean waters. LUMCON researchers will soon take a 9-day cruise in the Gulf to test ocean water. Last year they reportedly went as far as Galveston Texas to get out of the low-oxygen area. Rabalais hopes the action plan is a start, but the task force should act as an enforcer. "It's got to. We've got to make some progress," Rabalais said. |
