New Report Warns of Expanding Threat of Hypoxia in U.S. Coastal Waters

New Report Warns of Expanding Threat of Hypoxia in U.S. Coastal Waters

A report issued today by key environmental and scientific federal agencies assesses the increasing prevalence of low-oxygen “dead zones” in U.S. coastal waters and outlines a series of research and policy steps that could help reverse the decades-long trend. The interagency report notes that incidents of hypoxia—a condition in which oxygen levels drop so low that fish and other animals are stressed or killed—have increased nearly 30-fold since 1960, when data started to be collected.

The report was compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and had significant inputs from the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Agriculture, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. It provides a comprehensive list of the more than 300 U.S. coastal water bodies affected by hypoxia and, in eight case studies, highlights a range of representative ecosystems affected by hypoxia.

The USGS provided critical measurements and modeling of freshwater and nutrient delivery to coastal waters throughout the Nation.

The full release and report can be found at http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/nstc/oceans.

USGS Newsroom