Overview of Hypoxia around the World
ABSTRACT No other environmental variable of such ecological importance to estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems around the world has changed so drastically, in such a short period of time, as dissolved oxygen. While hypoxic and anoxic environments have existed through geological time, their occurr...
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Published in | Journal of environmental quality Vol. 30; no. 2; pp. 275 - 281 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Journal Article Conference Proceeding |
Language | English |
Published |
Madison
American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society
01.03.2001
Crop Science Society of America American Society of Agronomy |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | ABSTRACT
No other environmental variable of such ecological importance to estuarine and coastal marine ecosystems around the world has changed so drastically, in such a short period of time, as dissolved oxygen. While hypoxic and anoxic environments have existed through geological time, their occurrence in shallow coastal and estuarine areas appears to be increasing, most likely accelerated by human activities. Several large systems, with historical data, that never reported hypoxia at the turn of the 19th century (e.g., Kattegat, the sea between Sweden and Denmark) now experience severe seasonal hypoxia. Synthesis of literature pertaining to benthic hypoxia and anoxia revealed that the oxygen budgets of many major coastal ecosystems have been adversely affected mainly through the process of eutrophication (the production of excess organic matter). It appears that many ecosystems that are now severely stressed by hypoxia may be near or at a threshold of change or collapse (loss of fisheries, loss of biodiversity, alteration of food webs). |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Feature-3 ObjectType-Review-1 |
ISSN: | 0047-2425 1537-2537 |
DOI: | 10.2134/jeq2001.302275x |