Oxygen loss in the coastal Baltic Sea is 'unprecedentedly severe'
July 5, 2018
The Baltic Sea is home to some of the world's largest dead zones, areas of oxygen-starved waters where most marine animals can't survive. But while parts of this sea have long suffered from low oxygen levels, a new study by a team in Finland and Germany shows that oxygen loss in coastal areas over the past century is unprecedented in the last 1500 years. The research is published today in the European Geosciences Union journal Biogeosciences.
According to the researchers, human-induced pollution, from fertilisers and sewage running off the countries surrounding the Baltic into the sea, is the main driver of recent oxygen loss in the region's coastal waters. The spread of low-oxygen areas can have dire consequences for the environment and for local populations as it can reduce fish yields and even lead to massive mortality of marine animals.
https://m.phys.org/news/2018-07-oxygen-loss-coastal-baltic-sea.html
