Thousands of Dead Fish Attributed to Extreme Heat
- 12 years ago
Thousands of Dead Fish Attributed to Extreme Heat - as part of the news series by GeoBeats.
40 thousand dead fish have floated to the surface in Iowa waterways. The shovelnose Sturgeon fish are prized for their eggs which are sold as caviar, and the large number of dead Sturgeons contributes to an estimated 10 million dollar loss. There are so many dead fish that they are causing other problems for Midwest residents, like stopping up drains and causing power plants to be temporarily shut down.
The deaths in Iowa are being blamed on the record setting heat wave and drought that has swept over the country. The water was measured at an unusually hot 97 degrees, which is believed to be the cause of death for the shovelnose Sturgeon.
The 2012 drought is being called the worst summer since 1956.
The drought is also affecting crop production like corn and soy. Busniess Week reported that “at least 48 percent of U.S. corn and 37 percent of soybeans were rated as poor or very poor as of July 29, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.” Right now, over half of the United States is experiencing drought conditions.
40 thousand dead fish have floated to the surface in Iowa waterways. The shovelnose Sturgeon fish are prized for their eggs which are sold as caviar, and the large number of dead Sturgeons contributes to an estimated 10 million dollar loss. There are so many dead fish that they are causing other problems for Midwest residents, like stopping up drains and causing power plants to be temporarily shut down.
The deaths in Iowa are being blamed on the record setting heat wave and drought that has swept over the country. The water was measured at an unusually hot 97 degrees, which is believed to be the cause of death for the shovelnose Sturgeon.
The 2012 drought is being called the worst summer since 1956.
The drought is also affecting crop production like corn and soy. Busniess Week reported that “at least 48 percent of U.S. corn and 37 percent of soybeans were rated as poor or very poor as of July 29, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.” Right now, over half of the United States is experiencing drought conditions.