Huge areas of low oxygen found off both Washington and Oregon
are literal dead zones. Researchers recently found massive white
mats of bacteria had smothered al types of marine life. Crabs,
rockfish, and various other types of marine life were all dead
in these low oxygen areas, many refer to as dead zones. Every
summer since 2002 major areas of seabed off the northwest coast
have experienced plunging levels of oxygen. But in the summer of
2007 researchers found that the dead zones had greatly expanded.
One researcher was simply astounded. She said, "We couldn't
believe our eyes. It was so overwhelming and depressing. It
appeared that everything that couldn't swim or scuttle away had
died." Several of the researchers involved in the study have
concluded that the rapid growth of the dead zones seems to be
caused by global warming. They released a study in the Journal
of Science concluded the dead zones are forming with alarming
regularity every summer since 2002 and there is a very real
possibility that the oc