Death the Size of Connecticut

Sediments and nutrients darken the waters of the Gulf of Mexico
from the Mississippi River and its distributaries, as seen in this image
captured by NASA’s Aqua satellite on May 6, 2013. (Image: NASA)

This summer’s “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico measures some 5,840 square miles, or roughly the size of Connecticut, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A dead zone is an area where oxygen levels in the water drop so low that most forms of life cannot survive. 

A wet spring that brought more runoff of fertilizer from farmlands was projected to trigger formation of a larger than average dead zone this summer.