Ocean dead zones and agricultural runoff are perhaps one of the oceans' most destructive enemies. Less discussed than plastics as "out of sight, out of mind" logic seems to play a part. The plague of agricultural runoff of pesticides/fertilizers has caused areas known as dead zones in the ocean. The excessive nutrient pollution depletes the oxygen required to support marine life creating a lifeless lake within the ocean. (@noaa) Today the number of identified dead zones has risen to 405, up from 49 in 1960 (@scientific_american). The second picture above shows algae blooms in Jiangsu Province, China, caused by sewer dumping and shifting agricultural practices...(read more on @nytmag, picture by @geosteinmetz) Some good news? Efforts to recover dead zones have been successful, yet the rapid increase of farming is creating more dead zones faster than nature can recover (@nrdc). Also lets not forget that studies have shown a strong correlation between pesticides and cancer, it’s not just the health of our oceans we are playing with 🐟 #eco_nnect #deadzones #jiangsuprovince #nrdc #agriculturalrunoff #pesticides #fertilizers #oceanconservation #oceans #nytmag #noaa (presso Jiangsu) https://www.instagram.com/p/Bp7W6SKHFuA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=198cafywlbnlr
