Science Nation - Pacific Dead Zones

Ocean "dead zones" along the Washington and Oregon coasts are threatening critical U.S. fishing areas. These oxygen-depleted regions, that loose virtually all of their marine life in the summer, are expanding, and new ones are appearing in the Pacific Ocean. Oceanographer Jack Barth of Oregon State University says these new ocean dead zones are different from most of the 400+ others known around the world. While the majority of those are caused by excess nutrients in river runoffs, his research is the first to tie these new dead zones to climate change. With support from the National Science Foundation, Bath is also using an impressive new tool, an unmanned underwater glider that provides round the clock monitoring of these zones.