USGS Info Guides Gulf of Mexico Hypoxic Zone Action Plan

In January 2001, President Clinton sent to Congress an action plan with the goal of reducing the size of the summertime Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone to less that 5,000 square kilometers by 2015. The Action Plan was developed by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Nutrient Task Force with representatives from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), other Federal and State agencies, environmental and agricultural groups, and tribal organizations. As part of an intensive scientific assessment, guided by the National Science and Technology Council's Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR), USGS determined the sources and loads of nutrients in streams throughout the Mississippi River Basin. The runoff of nutrients from agricultural land has degraded the quality of water in the Mississippi Basin and has caused hypoxic conditions in the Gulf. This information enables targeting of water-quality incentive and habitat restoration programs to achieve the most significant improvement in local water quality in the Mississippi Basin and hypoxia in the Gulf.

References:

CENR, 2000,

Integrated assessment of hypoxia in the northern Gulf of Mexico: National Science and Technology Council Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, Washington, D.C. , 58 p.

Goolsby, D.A., and Battaglin, W.A., 2000,

Nitrogen in the Mississippi Basin--Estimating Sources and Predicting Flux to the Gulf of Mexico: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 135-00, 6 p.

Goolsby, D.A., Battaglin, W.A., Aulenbach, B.T., and Hooper, R.P., 1999,

Nitrogen flux and sources in the Mississippi River Basin, in Morganwalp, D.W., and Buxton, H.T., eds., U.S. Geological Survey Toxic Substances Hydrology Program--Proceedings of the Technical Meeting, Charleston, South Carolina, March 8-12, 1999--Volume 2 of 3--Contamination of Hydrologic Systems and Related Ecosystems: U.S. Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations Report 99-4018B, p. 203-213.

Goolsby, D.A., Battaglin, W.A., Lawrence, G.B., Artz, R.S., Aulenbach, B.T., Hooper, R.P., Keeney, D.R., and Stensland, G.J., 1999,

Flux and sources of nutrients in the Mississippi-Atchafalaya River Basin--Topic 3, Report for the integrated assessment on hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA Coastal Ocean Program Decision Analysis Series No. 17, 129 p.

Related Headlines

• Streamflow and Nutrient Delivery from the Mississippi River Basin to the Gulf of Mexico
• Nitrogen Isotope Study Answers Questions about the Transport of Nutrients in Streams
• New Report on Science for Hypoxia in Gulf of Mexico

More information

• USGS Information on Hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico
• Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Assessment

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