La. ‘dead zone’ smaller … however

The annual summertime low-oxygen "dead zone" along Louisiana's Gulf Coast is dramatically smaller this year – 2,720 square miles - LSU researchers announced July 31, making it the fourth smallest dead zone since 1985. But, it’s 50 percent larger than the target size set in 2008 by a federal task force concerned about the effects of hypoxia on Gulf of Mexico fisheries. The 2018 dead zone is smaller than the 5,770 square mile average from 2014-18, and only a third the size of last year's largest ever dead zone (8,776 square miles). Source: NOLA.com 07/31/18)