dead zones

(Newser) - Robots have found the world's biggest underwater "dead zone" in the Gulf of Oman—yet another sign that such oxygen-depleted regions are only increasing worldwide, ZME Science reports. Scientists sent the remote-controlled submarines underwater for eight months and uncovered roughly 63,000 square miles with little to no...

(Newser) - A Connecticut-sized swath of oxygen-deprived waters off the Gulf Coast is a "poster child for how we are using and abusing our natural resources," says one researcher in Louisiana. In its 30th annual survey, the Louisiana Marine Consortium shows the dead zone has shrunk to about 5,000...

(Newser) - The Gulf of Mexico is seeing one of the biggest low-oxygen areas—or "dead zones"—on record this year. A dead zone forms in the Gulf around this time every year, but the 2010 incarnation is 7,722 square miles, just a few hundred short of the record...

(Newser) - There's a lot more than just oil spewing out of BP's busted well and that spells still more trouble for marine life, experts warn. The well is leaking vast amounts of methane and other gases, triggering the growth of microbes and creating oxygen-starved "dead zones," where fish and...