A massive lifeless zone in the northern Gulf of Mexico is significantly smaller than forecast early this summer, suggesting the Mississippi River is carrying less farm field runoff and other pollutants down the 1.2-million-square-mile watershed that drains much of the nation’s agricultural heartland.
The area, widely known as “the dead zone,” was estimated at 4,772 square miles, or 3 million acres, below last year’s number of 6,703, according to scientists with the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.
Despite the lower annual number, scientists said the new five-year average of 4,829 square miles remains more than twice the size of the consortium’s goal of an average 1,900-square-mile dead zone by 2035.
Cassandra Glaspie, an assistant professor of oceanography and coastal sciences at Louisiana State University and the survey’s senior scientist, described this year’s survey as “a little wonky,” but still within the accepted range of accuracy.
