Thursday, August 5, 2004

I can think only of *The Neverending Story* ("Sebastian!")

Dying ocean (Wired News - 4 Aug 2004)

A huge 'dead zone' of water so devoid of oxygen that sea life cannot live in it, an annual occurrence caused by pollution, has spread across 5,800 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico this summer.

The extensive area of uninhabitable water may be contributing indirectly to an unusual spate of shark bites along the Texas coast, experts said.

A scientist at the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium said measurements showed the dead zone extended from the mouth of the Mississippi River in southeastern Louisiana 250 miles west to near the Texas border and was closer to shore than usual because of winds and currents.

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