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Researcher says Gulf dead zone bigger than ever

 

HOUSTON - A " dead zone " in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas-Louisiana

coast this year is likely to be the biggest ever and last longer than ever

before,

with marine life affected for hundreds of miles, a scientist warned.

 

" It's definitely the worst we've seen in the last five years, "

said Steve DiMarco, a Texas A & M University professor of oceanography who for

16 years has studied the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, so named because the

oxygen-depleted

water can kill marine life.

 

The phenomenon is caused when salt water loses large amounts of oxygen, a

condition

known as hypoxia that is typically associated with an area off the Louisiana

coast

at the mouth of the Mississippi River. The fresh water and salt water don't

mix well, keeping oxygen from filtering through to the sea bottom, which causes

problems for fish, shrimp, crabs and clams.

 

This year's dead zone has been aggravated by flood runoff from heavy spring

rains and additional runoff moving into the Gulf from record floods along the

Mississippi.

READ FULL ARTICLE AT: http://news./s/ap/20080723/ap_on_sc/dead_zone

 

 

 

 

Hundreds of baby penguins found dead in Brazil

 

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Hundreds of baby penguins swept from the icy shores of

Antarctica and Patagonia are washing up dead on Rio de Janeiro's tropical

beaches,

rescuers and penguin experts said Friday.

����

More than 400 penguins, most of them young, have been found dead on the beaches

of Rio de Janeiro state over the past two months, according to Eduardo Pimenta,

superintendent for the state coastal protection and environment agency in the

resort

city of Cabo Frio.

 

While it is common here to find some penguins ����� both dead and

alive ����� swept

by strong ocean currents from the Strait of Magellan, Pimenta said there have

been

more this year than at any time in recent memory.

 

Rescuers and those who treat penguins are divided over the possible causes.

 

Thiago Muniz, a veterinarian at the Niteroi Zoo, said he believed overfishing

has

forced the penguins to swim further from shore to find fish to eat " and that

leaves them more vulnerable to getting caught up in the strong ocean currents. "

 

READ FULL ARTICLE AT:

http://news./s/ap/20080720/ap_on_sc/brazil_dead_penguins;_ylt=Ag7ZlmkoK\

1gUHEc6xD9Qvk1xieAA

 

 

Hundreds Of Birds Found Dead, Dying At 2 MN Lakes

 

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources officials made a disturbing discovery

in two lakes, finding hundreds of birds dead or dying.

 

Officials say double-crested cormorants, pelicans, ring-billed gulls and a great

blue heron were found last week at Minnesota Lake in Faribault County and Pigeon

Lake in Meeker County.

 

DNR biologists say the dead birds included 687 cormorants and 37 pelicans. DNR

workers

discovered the dead and dying birds while banding pelicans.

 

Before heading into the troubled waters of Minnesota Lake, DNR Area Wildlife

Manager

Joel Anderson wrapped himself in protective clothing and putting on heavy boots.

 

Beyond the shoreline and farther than the eye can see he's cleaning up a small

island, following the disturbing, yet mysterious discovery.

 

" They noticed and found a lot of dead cormorants and few pelicans, " said

Anderson. On Minnesota Lake, more than 300 cormorants and more than three dozen

pelicans were found dead.

 

READ FULL ARTICLE AT: http://wcco.com/local/dead.cormorants.lakes.2.776659.html

 

 

With the first link, the chain is forged. The first speech censured, the first

thought forbidden, the first freedom denied, chains us all irrevocably.