Chesapeake Bay
Kayla & Tiana
Research Questions
#1 - Explanation of what causes a dead zone.
A dead zone is caused when chemical nutrients in the water increase, leading to large masses of algae that consume underwater oxygen levels (Scientific American).
#2 - What types of organisms are involved?
Fish, mobile invertebrates, and plants are all involved. Most animals can move out of the oxygen lacking waters, but those who attached to the bottom or are slow moving can’t escape and end up dying off (Teach Ocean Science).
#3 - What are the ecological impacts, which species are affected and how is the environment affected?
Sea grass, fish, shellfish and humans may become sick and die because of the red tides (National Geographic). The red tides have toxins in them that the algae produce. If you ingest them they become concentrated in your body and could kill you (Algal Blooms).
Eutrophication
(Ohio Wesleyan University)
Chesapeake Bay
(American History)
Dead Zone
(Baltimore Fishbowl)
Research Questions
#4 - What are the economic impacts?
A thick layer of algae is on top of the water because of the bacteria increasing, which causes the sun to not be able to reach in the water. Also the oxygen around the area is very low because of the bacteria, which kills off all the plants which need the sunlight because they produce their nutrients from the sun (Virginia Institute of Marine Science).
#5 - Describe the geographic locations affected by these.
They occur in freshwater and saltwater, happen naturally in coastal areas and inhabited coastlines (The Nature Conservancy).
#6 - What can be done to reduce, eliminate or manage excess nutrients and solve this issue?
If we manage how the large gulf and rivers flow and how much soil the farmers use. This will reduce surface runoff. which will keep from the nutrient build up, then we can keep the algae from overgrowing (Chesapeake Bay Foundation).
Works Cited
#1 - Simmon, Robert. "What Causes Ocean "Dead Zones"?" Scientific American. 25 Sept. 2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. <http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ocean-dead-zones/>.
#2 - "What Is the “Dead Zone”?" Teach Ocean Science. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. <http://www.teachoceanscience.net/teaching_resources/education_modules/dead_zones/learn_about/>.
#3 - "Dead Zone." National Geographic. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. <http://education.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/dead-zone/>.
#4 - "Dead Zone Formation." Virginia Institute of Marine Science. 2016. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. <http://www.vims.edu/research/topics/dead_zones/formation/index.php>.
#5 - "Reducing the Dead Zone and Mitigating Floods." The Nature Conservancy. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/areas/gulfofmexico/explore/reducing-the-dead-zone-and-mitigating-floods.xml>.
#6 - "Dead Zones." Chesapeake Bay Foundation. 2016. Web. 3 Feb. 2016. <http://www.cbf.org/about-the-bay/issues/dead-zones>.
#7 - Education, Pearson, ed. Algal Blooms. Print.
Photo 1 - "Eutrophication of Lake Erie." Ohio Wesleyan University. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. <https://sites.google.com/a/owu.edu/lake-erie-eutrophication/what-is-eutrophication/the-nutrients>.
Photo 2 - "Commercial Fishers: Chesapeake Oysters." American History. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. <http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/3_5.html>.
Photo 3 - "The Chesapeake’s Dead Zone Less Bad than Normal." Baltimore Fishbowl. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. <http://www.baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/the-chesapeakes-dead-zone-less-bad-than-normal/>.