Name: Yuzhu Gong Due Date: 2015/9/27
Article Title: Reviving Dead Zones
Author/Source: Scientific American
Article Title: Reviving Dead Zones
Author/Source: Scientific American
A: List major ideas, concepts or key points - point by point
B: Summarize the author's main point or idea
Summary of Author's Main Points:
A lot of coastal seas are dead zones, the dead zones are the places with reduced level of oxygen in the water, they are resulted by the plant nutrients from the land are killing off life in parts of shallow seas around the globe, and they are usually associated with eutrophication. Eutrophication is the overenrichment of the sea by nutrients containing nitrogen and phosphorus that promotes plant growth. It has huge and profound impacts on the ecosystem, like the algal blooms that block light from getting into the water and are harmful to plants and animals that need it. It cannot have abundant algae in the water because that way it will make it oxygen-deprived and create a dead zone. As everyone knows that the nitrogen is used in agriculture to grow crops but if the excess of nitrogen is found in the crop fields, the drainage water can be introduced it to streams which it can lead to hypoxic conditions, and too much of the nitrogen and phosphorus in coastal seas can result in large measure from the changing habits of people, especially the nitrogen compounds in particular tend to accumulate in groundwater. Intense commercial fishing can indirectly impact the food chain because everybody wants to target the top predators that way they can make more money out of it. Dead zones and eutrophications already have enormous bad effects in the the people should take some remedial actions by the reductions of agricultural and sewage runoff and the controls of overfishing because the quality of an ecosystem depends on the values of local inhabitants.
C: Reaction to the article
My Own Thoughts on the Topic:
The fact that nitrogen and phosphorus are impacting the ecosystem negatively in several ways. They create dead zones and eutrophication through the drainage system. Nitrogen and phosphorus are used in agriculture and crop fields so when the drainage water can go into the seas or rivers that lead a severe outcome which is the hypoxic situation. Eutrophication can be expected to result in rapid increases in the density of certain types of these phytoplankton, a phenomenon known as an algal bloom. They carry out these undersea species oxygen-deprived by having too many phytoplankton. Usually the phytoplankton is supervised by the lights and nutrients but on account of the increases of nitrogen and phosphorus that lead these photosynthetic organisms to multiply in great abundance. Therefore, the water eventually turns green. Even though these two chemicals are affecting our ecosystems tremendously but there are still methods to remediate by reducing the agricultural and sewage runoff and controls of overfishing.
- Around 60 million tons of benthic life perished from hypoxia, so these species were oxygen-deprived that it could no longer support nonbacterial life.
- Eutrophication is the overenrichment of the sea by nutrients that promote plant growth.
- The increases of nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations enable these minute photosynthetic organisms to multiply in great profusion, it can cause difficulties for nearby sea life and oxygen levels in bottom waters decline.
- There are several ways to restore these key marine ecosystems: the reductions of agricultural and sewage runoff and the controls on overfishing.
- The fertilizing chemicals can cause microscopic plants to float near the surface to overgrow.
- An imbalance in the food chain can be worsened by intense commercial fishing.
- The undersea ecosystems can be destroyed by a surplus of nutrients. (The Black Sea)
- Nitrogen compounds in particular tend to accumulate in groundwater.
- The concept of rating the health or quality of an ecosystem depends on the values of local inhabitants.
- The coastal dead zones tells people that we should expect the natural ecosystems to absorb our wastes without severe and often unexpected consequences.
B: Summarize the author's main point or idea
Summary of Author's Main Points:
A lot of coastal seas are dead zones, the dead zones are the places with reduced level of oxygen in the water, they are resulted by the plant nutrients from the land are killing off life in parts of shallow seas around the globe, and they are usually associated with eutrophication. Eutrophication is the overenrichment of the sea by nutrients containing nitrogen and phosphorus that promotes plant growth. It has huge and profound impacts on the ecosystem, like the algal blooms that block light from getting into the water and are harmful to plants and animals that need it. It cannot have abundant algae in the water because that way it will make it oxygen-deprived and create a dead zone. As everyone knows that the nitrogen is used in agriculture to grow crops but if the excess of nitrogen is found in the crop fields, the drainage water can be introduced it to streams which it can lead to hypoxic conditions, and too much of the nitrogen and phosphorus in coastal seas can result in large measure from the changing habits of people, especially the nitrogen compounds in particular tend to accumulate in groundwater. Intense commercial fishing can indirectly impact the food chain because everybody wants to target the top predators that way they can make more money out of it. Dead zones and eutrophications already have enormous bad effects in the the people should take some remedial actions by the reductions of agricultural and sewage runoff and the controls of overfishing because the quality of an ecosystem depends on the values of local inhabitants.
C: Reaction to the article
My Own Thoughts on the Topic:
The fact that nitrogen and phosphorus are impacting the ecosystem negatively in several ways. They create dead zones and eutrophication through the drainage system. Nitrogen and phosphorus are used in agriculture and crop fields so when the drainage water can go into the seas or rivers that lead a severe outcome which is the hypoxic situation. Eutrophication can be expected to result in rapid increases in the density of certain types of these phytoplankton, a phenomenon known as an algal bloom. They carry out these undersea species oxygen-deprived by having too many phytoplankton. Usually the phytoplankton is supervised by the lights and nutrients but on account of the increases of nitrogen and phosphorus that lead these photosynthetic organisms to multiply in great abundance. Therefore, the water eventually turns green. Even though these two chemicals are affecting our ecosystems tremendously but there are still methods to remediate by reducing the agricultural and sewage runoff and controls of overfishing.