What Are Ocean Dead Zones and Why Are They Growing?

In this reel

Parts of the ocean have so little oxygen that almost nothing can survive in them — and they're spreading Have you ever heard of ocean dead zones before today?

Transcript

Parts of the ocean have almost no life at all. They're called dead zones — areas where oxygen drops so low, fish can't survive. Fertiliser runoff from farms washes nutrients into rivers and out to sea. Those nutrients feed massive algae blooms — they look dramatic, but what comes next is worse. When that algae dies and decomposes, bacteria consume all the surrounding oxygen — and the zone goes dead. There are now over 400 known dead zones worldwide — and they've roughly doubled since the 1960s. Follow for more ocean stories you won't hear anywhere else.