Document Type
Article
Department/Program
Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Publication Date
2017
Journal
Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America
Volume
114
Issue
33
First Page
8823
Last Page
8828
Abstract
A large region of low-dissolved-oxygen bottom waters (hypoxia) forms nearly every summer in the northern Gulf of Mexico because of nutrient inputs from theMississippi River Basin andwater column stratification. Policymakers developed goals to reduce the area of hypoxic extent because of its ecological, economic, and commercial fisheries impacts. However, the goals remain elusive after 30 y of research and monitoring and 15 y of goal-setting and assessment because there has been little change in river nitrogen concentrations. An intergovernmental Task Force recently extended to 2035 the deadline for achieving the goal of a 5,000-km(2) 5-y average hypoxic zone and set an interim load target of a 20% reduction of the spring nitrogen loading from the Mississippi River by 2025 as part of their adaptive management process. The Task Force has asked modelers to reassess the loading reduction required to achieve the 2035 goal and to determine the effect of the 20% interim load reduction. Here, we address both questions using a probabilistic ensemble of four substantially different hypoxia models. Our results indicate that, under typical weather conditions, a 59% reduction in Mississippi River nitrogen load is required to reduce hypoxic area to 5,000 km(2). The interim goal of a 20% load reduction is expected to produce an 18% reduction in hypoxic area over the long term. However, due to substantial interannual variability, a 25% load reduction is required before there is 95% certainty of observing any hypoxic area reduction between consecutive 5-y assessment periods.
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1705293114
Keywords
Reducing Nitrogen Export; Mississippi River; Water-Quality; Organic-Matter; Oxygen-Demand; Dead Zone; Nutrient; Eutrophication; Dynamics; Science
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Scavia, D; Bertani, I; Obenour, DR; Turner, RE; Forrest, David R.; and Katin, A, Ensemble modeling informs hypoxia management in the northern Gulf of Mexico (2017). Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, 114(33), 8823-8828.
10.1073/pnas.1705293114
