agricultural runoff

Runoff creates a visible line in the Appomattox River, a major tributary of the James River, which flows into southern Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. Credit: Kenny Fletcher, Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Could the Mississippi River benefit from Chesapeake Bay’s strategy to improve water quality?

Sluggish progress on reducing nutrient runoff into the Bay marks an inconvenient truth, but offers lessons for others seeking to clean their watersheds.

U.S. Geological Survey physical scientist Kendra Markland checks data gathered at a river flow monitoring station along the Cedar River Bridge near Palo, Iowa on No. 14, 2022. The USGS collects water samples from the river once a month. The agency tests samples for several substances including nitrate level.

Coastal Desk

Farm to Trouble: As conservation lags, so does progress in slashing Gulf's 'dead zone'

Erin Jordan, The Gazette

One year away from a federal deadline to reduce nutrient runoff into the Gulf of Mexico by 20%, increases in tile drainage, livestock and fertilizer use have made success unlikely.

Coastal Desk

Near-Record Dead Zone Predicted This Year

Travis Lux

The dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico is predicted to be the second biggest in history, according to a new forecast from the Louisiana Universities Marine…

Coastal Desk

Gulf Dead Zone Much Smaller Than Average

Travis Lux

Every summer, a dead zone forms in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s an area with so little oxygen that marine life can’t survive, caused mostly by agricultural…

Coastal Desk

The Mississippi River Is Getting Saltier

Travis Lux

A new study shows waterways across the country are getting saltier — including the Mississippi River. That has implications for the ecosystem and for…

Coastal Desk

Tulane Awards $1 Million To Help Reduce Gulf Dead Zone

Travis Lux

Every summer, a "dead zone" forms in the Gulf of Mexico. It’s an area where the oxygen is so low that aquatic mammals can't survive. This year the dead…