CORVALLIS, Oregon, October 8, 2009 (ENS) – Climate change is likely responsible for the formation of a large dead zone that has formed off the coast of Oregon and Washington for the past eight years, researchers from Oregon State University said today. Dead zones are ocean expanses that lose most of their marine life during the summer due to a lack of oxygen, called hypoxia. The Pacific Northwest dead zones, which have appeared every summer since 2002, are located in one of the nation’s most important fisheries. Jack Barth, a professor of oceanography at OSU, says, “I wouldn’t be surprised if coastal dead zones appear every summer from now on because oceanic and atmospheric conditions are now primed for their regular, repeated formation.” Connections between climate change and the recent formation of dead zones in Pacific Northwest coastal waters are being studied by a research team that is funded by the National Science Foundation and co-led by Barth and Francis Chan of Oregon State University. Jane Lubchenco, now on leave from the university while serving as administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, previously co-led the team. “We did experience hypoxic conditions for the eighth consecutive year, but unlike 2006 when strong, steady winds led to near zero-oxygen, or anoxic, conditions, we got a break,” said Barth. “A series of wind reversals late in the summer helped dissipate the low oxygen, in essence allowing the system to flush itself.” … The Earth now has more than 400 dead zones with the count doubling every 10 years. … “Historically, winds would blow at the coast for a week or so, then settle down for several days,” he pointed out. “As the winds eased, so did upwelling, and low-oxygen water was washed away – likely off the continental shelf. But in some years, those traditional wind patterns have shifted and now may last 20 to 30 days instead of a week. The system doesn’t have time to cleanse itself.” … Barth says that for him the real questions now are, “How big will the dead zones be? How long will they last? And how often will oxygen levels plunge low enough to cause marine die-offs?”
Oregon Dead Zone Blamed on Climate Change
