Author Archive
The upside-down world of the Gulf’s dead zone
Posted by Mother Nature Network: Robynne Boyd on December 10th, 2015
Mother Nature Network: The seas off the Gulf of Mexico look much like any stretch of ocean -- an expanse of mercurial waves shimmering and sparkling in sunlight -- except for the greenish tint. Below the surface, it's a vastly different story owing to a problem that's suffocating the sea.
For marine ecologists like Nancy Rabalais, diving here is like entering an upside-down world where the water column has been turned on its head. The barnacles and sponges usually found on the seabed now cling to oil rig platforms where...