Arabian Sea's Oxygen Deprived 'Dead Zone' Larger Than Florida, Survey Reveals

A new study exploring depths of the Gulf of Oman revealed a massive increase in the size of its "dead zone," an area with too little oxygen for the survival of marine life. First spotted nearly half a century ago, dead-zones, aka oxygen minimum zones or OMZs, were flagged as a major threat to marine biology. They occur naturally at depths ranging from 700 to 2500 feet due to changes in the level of atmospheric oxygen and have been located in three to four parts of the world including the Gulf of Oman which shares its waters with the Arabian Sea. Now, that dead-zone appears to have grown bigger than what was previously thought. During a recent study, scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA) sent two underwater robots, dubbed Seagliders, into the gulf to create a detailed picture of oxygen levels and the mechanics that mix oxygen and other nutrients into the water.