Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
GLOUCESTER POINT, Va. (AP) — Researchers say the total amount of oxygen-deprived dead zones in Chesapeake Bay this summer was the biggest since 2014.
The Virginia Institute of Marine Science also said Monday that the total amount of dead zones this summer increased by 10 percent over last year.
The institute has used a three-dimensional forecast model since 2014 to gauge areas of oxygen depletion — or hypoxia — in which oxygen dissolved in water falls so low it no longer supports fish, crabs, oysters and other aquatic organisms. Pollution has been blamed.
Researchers estimated oxygen-depleted areas totaled 220 cubic miles (919 cubic kilometers) this summer, roughly the same as in 2014. They estimated the dead zones totaled 199 cubic miles (833 cubic kilometers) in 2016 and 181 cubic miles (757 cubic kilometers) in 2015.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
