Essay --

Eutrophication in the Gulf of Mexico Introduction Even though the Midwestern United States produces the majority of the country’s agriculture to date, this immense agricultural activity in the Midwest region has not only degraded the land itself but also the water in the regional rivers and tributaries, which is all interconnected in the network known as the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin (also referred to as MARB). The MARB (Figure 1) covers an extensive 1,245,000 square miles and drains out into the Gulf of Mexico, where over the years it has accumulated an increased and dangerous amount of agricultural runoff pollution, namely nitrogen and phosphorus. Over the years, researchers have identified and pointed to several human interactions that have contributed to the degrading and toxic ecological changes occurring in the Gulf of Mexico. However, only 3 human interactions have been chosen as part of the focus for this research project, all of which will be introduced later in the paper. In addition to the human inter actions that accelerates the degradation of the water in the GoM, it also important to note that the continual increase and accumulation of excess nutrients resulting from runoff is defined as eutrophication and is a true real world problem that must be reduced before water becomes uninhabitable. Eutrophication. What is it? Eutrophication is â€Å"the process by which a body of water acquires a high concentration of nutrients, especially phosphates and nitrates. These typically promote excessive growth of algae. As the algae die and decompose, high levels of organic matter and the decomposing organisms deplete the water available oxygen, cause the death of other organisms, such as fish. Eutrophication is a natu... ...to the MARB, primarily from the application of agricultural fertilizers. Agriculture has caused an increase in the flow of nutrients from chemical fertilizers into bodies of water. The excess nutrients change the chemical composition of the water, impacting biological life forms in the affected areas. Sewage is another major source of nutrient flow to the Gulf. There are sections of lakes and oceans all over the world affected by eutrophication and hypoxia, and this has not only biological effects but also economic and social problems. The largest hypoxic area in the western Atlantic Ocean is found in the Gulf of Mexico. The biological repercussions of eutrophication, in the form of habitat alteration and entire trophic structure disintegration are devastating to the Gulf; remediation, though costly, must be put into effect in order to bring life back into the area.