This journal article, "Effect of stream channel size on the delivery of nitrogen to the gulf of Mexico," recently published in Nature, provides data and discussion on the means of distribution and significant sources of an increased flux of nitrogen from the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico during the latter half of the 20th century. The paper analyzes data taken from 374 US monitoring...

At last week's meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), scientists explored solutions to the "dead zone," an area of approximately 7,000 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico. Each summer, this area becomes oxygen-depleted ("hypoxic"), when excessive nutrients (especially nitrogen) flow down the Mississippi River into the Gulf. Most of the nitrogen is washed into the...