Midwest flooding may worsen dead zone

by DEE DEE THURSTON

HOUMA -- Flooding in the Midwest is swelling the Mississippi River, sending increased water through Louisiana and into the Gulf of Mexico -- a phenomenon that has left researchers confident that their dire dead-zone predictions are right on track.

Scientists have predicted that this year's dead zone -- an area of the Gulf of Mexico that lacks enough oxygen to support marine life -- will be the largest ever.

The river's flooding will help ensure that by adding more agricultural runoff and fresh water to the Gulf, said Nancy Rabalais, director of the Cocodrie-based Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium and a leading dead-zone researcher.

Especially disconcerting is news that researchers have detected low-oxygen levels in the Chandeleur Sound, a miles-wide swath of water between St. Bernard Parish and the Candeleur Islands off the state's eastern coast.

"I don't think I've ever seen that happen before," said Rabalais, a pioneer in the field of dead-zone research since 1985.

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