Oxygen Is Disappearing From the World’s Oceans at an Alarmingly Rapid Pace

We seriously need to rethink about the overuse of fertilizers in the agriculture industry. If not our planet will die.

http://www.newsweek.com/oxygen-disappearing-worlds-oceans-alarmingly-rapid-pace-771406

The change is connected with warmer ocean temperatures. “Warmer water holds less oxygen,” Levin explained. Also, increased surface temperatures make it more difficult for oxygen to reach relatively deeper parts of the ocean. The majority of oxygen loss is occurring at 300 to 2,200 feet deep. For reference, some parts of the ocean are 7 miles deep. Oxygen is typically replenished when surface water mixes with the deeper water, but when the oceans are hotter, there is less vertical mixing.

A second source of deoxygenation also plagues the coastal waters. Although this problem has nothing to do with warmer waters caused by human-induced climate change, humans aren’t off the hook. Excess nutrients from agriculture and sewage cause excess algae growth. The decay process of algae uses up the oxygen in a process called eutrophication, Levin said.