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Connecticut-sized “dead zone” expected to emerge in Gulf of Mexico, potentially killing marine life, NOAA warns
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Nearly 6,000 square miles – an area roughly the size of Connecticut – will become a “dead zone” for marine life in the Gulf of Mexico this summer, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned on Thursday. Although such areas happen every summer, this year’s will be more than 600 square miles larger than average.
Dead zones are areas in the water where oxygen levels are so low that they can kill fish and other marine life. These zones typically emerge because of excessive nutrient pollution caused by human activities, NOAA said. The average dead zone over the past 37 years has measured at about 5,200 square miles, but this year’s is estimated to be about 5,827 square miles.
The largest dead zone ever recorded in the Gulf was nearly 9,000 square miles – roughly the size of New Jersey – and emerged in 2017. When that happened, videos showed the water becoming so dark that divers needed flashlights to look around.
The estimate comes after the U.S. Geological Survey found about 5% more discharge in the Mississippi and Atchafalaya Rivers than the long-term average in May. Nitrate and phosphorus contribute to algal blooms, and in May, those loads were 7% and 22% above the long-term averages, respectively.
USGS
Those nutrients, though necessary in some amounts, can overload the environment. According to Carleton College’s Science Education Resource Center, runoff filled with fertilizers, soil erosion, animal wastes, and sewage ends up in the aforementioned rivers.
“In a natural system, these nutrients aren’t significant factors in algae growth because they are depleted in the soil by plants. However, with anthropogenically increased nitrogen and phosphorus input, algae growth is no longer limited,” the college says. “Consequently, algal blooms develop, the food chain is altered, and dissolved oxygen in the area is depleted.”
When that happens, it forces many animals, like fish and shrimp, to leave the area, and can kill organisms that are not able to leave. When dead zones are particularly large, they can wreak havoc on fishermen and coastal economies, Carleton College researchers say, as the Gulf provided nearly three-quarters of the country’s harvested shrimp. The Gulf also provides 66% of harvested oysters and 16% of commercial fish.
USGS Lower Mississippi Gulf Water Science Center
“Reducing the impact of hypoxic events and lessening the occurrence and intensity of future dead zones continues to be a NOAA priority,” National Ocean Service Assistant Administrator Nicole LeBoeuf said. “These forecasts are designed to provide crucial data to scientists, coastal managers and communities, and are used as guideposts in the development of planning actions.”
Reducing runoff is essential in minimizing the dead zone.
The National Wildlife Federation said that adopting better agricultural practices, such as planting cover crops and reducing farm field drainage into rivers, as well as filling floodplains with wetlands to filter nutrients, can all be valuable ways to manage the issue.
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Questions on neurologist’s White House visits spark heated exchange over Biden’s health
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Russian playwright, theater director sentenced to prison on terrorism charges
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A Russian court on Monday convicted a theater director and a playwright of terrorism charges and sentenced them to six years each in prison, the latest in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent across the country that has reached new heights since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine.
Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theater director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk have already been in jail for over a year awaiting trial.
Authorities claimed their play “Finist, the Brave Falcon” justifies terrorism, which is a criminal offense in Russia punishable by up to seven years in prison. Berkovich and Petriychuk have both repeatedly rejected the accusations against them.
In one hearing, Berkovich told the court that she staged the play in order to prevent terrorism, and Petriychuk echoed her sentiment, saying that she wrote it in order to prevent events like those depicted in the play.
The women’s lawyers pointed out at court hearings before the trial that the play was supported by the Russian Culture Ministry and won the Golden Mask award, Russia’s most prestigious national theater award. In 2019, the play was read to inmates of a women’s prison in Siberia, and Russia’s state penitentiary service praised it on its website, Petriychuk’s lawyer said.
Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP
The case against Berkovich and Petriychuk elicited outrage in Russia. An open letter in support of the two artists, started by the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was signed by more than 16,000 people since their arrest.
The play, the letter argued, “carries an absolutely clear anti-terrorist sentiment.”
Dozens of Russian actors, directors and journalists also signed affidavits urging the court to release the two from custody pending investigation and trial.
Immediately after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin unleashed a sweeping campaign of repression, unparalleled since the Soviet era. It has effectively criminalized any criticism of the war, with the authorities targeting not only prominent opposition figures who eventually received draconian prison terms, but anyone who spoke out against it, publicly or otherwise.
Pressure mounted on critical artists in Russia, too. Actors and directors were fired from state-run theaters, and musicians were blacklisted from performing in the country. Some were slapped with the label “foreign agent,” which carries additional government scrutiny and strong negative connotations. Many have left Russia.
Berkovich, who is raising two adopted daughters, refused to leave Russia and continued working with her independent theater production in Moscow, called Soso’s Daughters. Shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine, she staged an anti-war picket and was jailed for 11 days.
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Which lawmakers are calling for Biden to drop out of 2024 race?
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