Oceanic Dead Zones Off West Coast are the 'New Normal'

Millions of dead crabs are washing up onto Oregon and Washington state beaches from the offshore "dead zone".

Ever since it was first noticed by crab fishermen who hauled up hundreds of dead and dying crabs in 2002, the "dead zone" that popped up in the waters along the northwestern coastal shelf just off the coast of Oregon has claimed unknown millions of lives. This oxygen-depleted region has transformed formerly rich seafloor communities teeming with life into vast graveyards filled with the bodies of crabs, echinoderms, molluscs, sea worms and other creatures. This carnage was easily visible to a team of research scientists from Oregon State University, who sent an underwater vehicle, equipped with video cameras, into the depths to look around.

"We saw a crab graveyard and no fish the entire day," noted Jane Lubchenco, co-author of the papers that report on their discovery. Lubchenco is the Valley Professor of Marine Biology at Oregon State University.

"Thousands and thousands of dead crab and molts were littering the ocean floor, many sea stars were dead, and the fish have either left the area or have died and been washed away." Read More..
http://scienceblogs.com/grrlscientist/2008/02/oceanic_dead_zones_on_west_coa.php