--- title: Marine 'Dead Zone' the Size of Connecticut Found in Gulf of Mexico description: A survey of water conditions along the Gulf of Mexico has found the world's second-largest "dead zone" ballooning out from the mouth of the Mississippi River and covering an expanse of ocean roughly equal in size to the state of Connecticut. canonical: https://time.com/3082586/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-connecticut/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-05T15:21:19.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:30:24.940Z article:section: Science og:title: Marine 'Dead Zone' the Size of Connecticut Found in Gulf of Mexico og:description: A survey of water conditions along the Gulf of Mexico has found the world's second-largest "dead zone" ballooning out from the mouth of the Mississippi River and covering an expanse of ocean roughly equal in size to the state of Connecticut. og:url: https://time.com/3082586/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-connecticut/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt202f76615aa903bc/69869e6fadae4442ae5446a2/183110544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Mike Coleman and Jarad Williams check their crab traps on October 4, 2013 in Grand Isle, Louisiana. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Marine 'Dead Zone' the Size of Connecticut Found in Gulf of Mexico twitter:description: A survey of water conditions along the Gulf of Mexico has found the world's second-largest "dead zone" ballooning out from the mouth of the Mississippi River and covering an expanse of ocean roughly equal in size to the state of Connecticut. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt202f76615aa903bc/69869e6fadae4442ae5446a2/183110544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone' Now the Size of Connecticut  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Aug 5, 2014 3:21 PM UTC  Mike Coleman and Jarad Williams check their crab traps on October 4, 2013 in Grand Isle, Louisiana. Mike Coleman and Jarad Williams check their crab traps on October 4, 2013 in Grand Isle, Louisiana.Marianna Massey—Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Aug 5, 2014 3:21 PM UTC A survey of marine life in the Gulf of Mexico has [found](http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2014/20140804%5Fdeadzone.html) the world’s second-largest “dead zone” ballooning out from the mouth of the Mississippi River and covering an expanse of ocean roughly equal in size to the state of Connecticut. Scientists for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration measured the dead zone, an expanse of asphyxiating water marked by unusually low oxygen levels and marine life, at roughly 5,052 square miles. Scientists trace the dead zone to nutrient runoffs from farmlands upriver. The nutrients stimulate algae growth, creating massive algae blooms that sink, decompose and consume oxygen that is vital to the surrounding marine life. “The Dead Zone off the Louisiana coast is the second largest human-caused coastal hypoxic area in the global ocean and stretches from the mouth of the Mississippi River into Texas waters and less often, but increasingly more frequent, east of the Mississippi River,” [wrote](http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2014/20140804%5Fdeadzone.html) the study’s author Nancy Rabalais of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON). The [largest](http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/02/100305-baltic-sea-algae-dead-zones-water/) dead zone is thought to be in the Baltic Sea, in Scandinavia. NOAA scientists note that this year’s dead zone is smaller than the one recorded last year, but still well above the federal target of 1,900 square miles. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3082586/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-connecticut/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3082586/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-connecticut/"},"headline":"Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone' Now the Size of Connecticut","datePublished":"2014-08-05T15:21:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:30:24.940Z","description":"Surveyors measured a 5,052sq mile expanse of asphyxiating water off of the coast of Louisiana","url":"https://time.com/3082586/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-connecticut/","keywords":["Environment"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt202f76615aa903bc/69869e6fadae4442ae5446a2/183110544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt202f76615aa903bc/69869e6fadae4442ae5446a2/183110544.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Mike Coleman and Jarad Williams check their crab traps on October 4, 2013 in Grand Isle, Louisiana.","caption":"Mike Coleman and Jarad Williams check their crab traps on October 4, 2013 in Grand Isle, Louisiana.","creditText":"Marianna Massey—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3082586/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone-connecticut/","name":"Gulf of Mexico 'Dead Zone' Now the Size of Connecticut"}}]}] ```