NOAA just predicted that a large dead zone, about the size of Massachusetts, will develop in the Gulf of Mexico this summer as a result of record rains and flooding in the Midwest. Meanwhile, flooding and fast currents have stalled most of the barge traffic on the Mississippi, with almost 300 barges waiting out the weather at two locks there.
NOAA says the dead zone, an area where low or no oxygen can kill fish and other marine life, will be caused by nutrient pollution flowing down the Mississippi. Once the excess nutrients reach the Gulf, they will stimulate the growth of algae, which eventually die and decompose in the water. The resulting low oxygen levels near the bottom are not enough to support most marine life. The picture above shows the size of the resulting dead zone, the second-largest ever recorded.
The problem stems from record rain this spring. The National Weather Service says this spring was the wettest in the contiguous 48 states since they started keeping records in 1895. All five Great Lakes had record high water levels in May; Lake Erie had the highest since 1918.
Earlier this week, 203 points along U.S. rivers were at flood stage, with most along the Mississippi, Arkansas and Missouri Rivers and their tributaries. In addition to stopping or hindering barge and recreational boat traffic, the flooded rivers pose some dangers, as the rising water floods sewer and septic systems and industrial plants along the banks.
One of the flooded areas was in Kimmswick, just below St. Louis on the Mississippi, where Hoppies has been a favorite stop for Great Loop cruisers for many years. (I stopped there a few years ago on Beneteau’s Greatest Loop voyage.) Last week inmates from the state prison were filling sandbags to reinforce the levee there.
The high water means recreational boaters need to check their air draft for bridge clearance. Chicago Harbors, which operates several marinas in Chicago, said the current water levels are about eight inches higher than last year, and are expected to go even higher in June and July. “We recognize that this is going to create some issues,” they said, “particularly for those harbors with bridges.” Read more: https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/noaa-forecasts-very-large-dead-zone-for-gulf-of-mexico
