Ideas for Further Research

Research Ideas

One idea for a research project is to examine solutions to hypoxia. After reading all about the increasing severity of hypoxia and the detrimental effects it causes, you are probably wondering what is being done to solve the problem. While the focus of this website is strictly the scientific phenomenon of hypoxia, there is plenty of information on policy and conservation information surrounding the issue of hypoxia. The following are some links to get you started:

• http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/index.html
  EPA Gulf of Mexico Program website index—lots of links to lots of information.
• http://water.usgs.gov/pubs/circ/2004/1270/
  Site where you can download a USGS report on monitoring, modeling, and researching nutrient issues in the Mississippi watershed.
• http://www.umbsn.org/
  Upper Mississippi River Basin Stakeholder Network (UMBSN): lots of information and images on issues faced by this area
• http://www.mwmo.org/
  Mississippi Watershed Management Organization
• http://www.epa.gov/msbasin/actionplan.htm
  EPA action plan for mitigating Gulf hypoxia. Good overview of the issues associated with hypoxia and potential solutions.
• http://co.water.usgs.gov/hypoxia/html/graphics.html
  Some graphics of hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico and activities in the Mississippi watershed.
  

  Another idea is to look at whether the important fisheries are being affected by hypoxia. Is hypoxia affecting the Louisiana economy? If so, to what extent? The brown shrimp is a major commercial resource in Louisiana, and hypoxia could potentially have an economic impact on this commercial fishery. Here are some links on the brown shrimp fishery:

• http://www.epa.gov/msbasin/ia/chap3.html
  EPA site: Consequences of Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico
• http://www.nos.noaa.gov/products/pubs_hypox.html
  Huge NOAA site on hypoxia. An economic consequences section is included.
• http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/Penaeu_aztecu.htm
  Smithsonian page all about the brown shrimp.

Interested in seeing how stratification of the water column occurs? Conduct your own stratification experiment. Click here for instructions.

Wondering who is doing all of this research on hypoixa? Here are just a few of the people who are studying hypoxia:

Nancy Rabalais, "Queen of the Dead Zone," Professor at Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium