Student Research Reports

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The Gulf of Mexico is currently facing a biodiversity crisis. It is estimated that in May 2019, more than 153,000 tons of nitrate and 24,000 tons of phosphorus were washed into the Gulf. That meant one of the largest dead zones on record, which was only curtailed by Hurricane Barry the next month. If not for Barry, much more aquatic life would have died that year, because of deoxygenation and nutrient runoff. We cannot rely on natural events anymore to reduce this man-made problem, and need to make an effort to ensure that nutrient runoff, and consequently deoxygenation and dead zones, are reduced to protect biodiversity in our local area. The purpose of this report is to raise awareness and confirm this threat to our local watershed before more damage is done. A watershed is a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams, and rivers, and eventually to outflow points such as reservoirs, bays, and the ocean, according to NOAA. The hypothesis of this report is that if runoff that is made up of nitrogen, phosphorus, manure, chemicals, and fertilizers continue to be dumped into the Mississippi river, then biodiversity in the Gulf of Mexico will continue to decrease due to deoxygenation and dead zones. To test this hypothesis, we looked at several reports and articles related to this topic to find data. We also used other resources, such as the director of the Ahmad ibn Majid Project for Marine Mapping & Sustainable Development, and the Infinity Space Center. We concluded that our hypothesis was correct, and this real threat could cost us the remaining biodiversity in the Gulf of Mexico and our local watershed.