Will the Gulf of Mexico Dead Zone Become Worldwide by 2012?
Even before the oil rig explosion and oil spill disaster of the spring of 2010, scientists and environmentalists were raising concern about a “dead zone” centered in the Gulf of Mexico. Staring out as small spot in the Gulf, the dead zone has grown to some 7,000 square miles in extent. It is described as an area where virtually no sea life can survive due to oxygen depletion of the water. About the only thing that scientists and fishermen are able to pull from this zone is the dead bodies of crabs, shrimp and other species of marine animals. The oil spill of 2010 (sometimes referred to as an oil volcano due to its intensity) could accelerate the growth of the Gulf dead zone, experts fear. Such an eventuality would be right in line with prophecies about the death of the oceans by the year 2012. There are other dead zones in the world, but this one is among the largest. It is additionally unusual in that, at its current northern limits, it is so close to shore. Those studying it say that
