Climate Change Shrinking Ocean Low-Oxygen Zones Evan Pappas - seattlepi.com
go to original August 16, 2014

The low-oxygen zone is below the surface off the coasts of Mexico and Peru. Sediment cores were collected at the northern low-oxygen zone, near Santa Monica and Baja California. (C. Deutsch/UW)

While climate change has been shown to be hurting far more than it is helping, some new research might signal some good news for marine life in the tropics.

New research from the University of Washington shows the size of low-oxygen zones in tropical waters is actually shrinking.

...The warmer the water is, the less gas it contains. Climate change is having this effect worldwide. As climate change continues, the low-oxygen zones of water will only get worse. There are already zones in Mexico and Peru that have too little oxygen to support life.

But UW’s research shows that despite oxygen levels getting worse, weakening trade winds could help shrink the size of the zones.

When the oxygen levels drop far enough, a specific group of bacteria that flourishes with nitrogen end up pushing oxygen deeper into the ocean. Their appearance is a sign of low oxygen levels. However, westward trade winds bring nutrients to the coast where they are used by oxygen based life. With weaker winds, fewer nutrients are being shifted and less oxygen is being used up.

So even though low-oxygen zones are getting worse, the zones themselves are actually shrinking in size.

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