The Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone will likely be smaller this year due to drought conditions throughout the Mississippi River watershed.

A team of NOAA-supported scientists is predicting that this year’s Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone could range from a low of approximately 1,197 square miles to as much as 6,213 square miles. The wide range is the result of using two different forecast models. The forecast is based on Mississippi River nutrient inputs compiled annually by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).
The smaller dead zone forecast, covering an area slightly larger than the state of Rhode Island, comes from researchers from the University of Michigan. Their predicted size is based solely on the current year’s spring nutrient inputs from the Mississippi River which were significantly lower than average due to drought conditions throughout much of the watershed. In 2011 Dead Zones in the Gulf of Mexico and the Chesapeake Bay were reportedly the largest on record due to higher than normal rainfall events. Read more: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2012/20120621_deadzone.html

In an article released by Trout Headwaters, Inc. called Restoring Nature’s Water Filter: How Streamside Vegetation Can Save the Gulf of Mexico we discussed of how nature’s water filter of diverse, streamside, woody vegetation slows and purifies water before it enters streams and   Restoring nature’s water filter is the only permanent, sustainable solution to protecting our nation’s estuaries.