A University of California Santa Barbara study has performed the first integrated analysis of all coastal areas of the world. Costal marine ecosystems and the industries they sustain are at risk worldwide as a result of human activities. The study ranks “hot spots” of human impact on coastal areas.

The hottest hot spot is the mouth of the Mississippi River, where nutrient runoff has caused a persistent “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico. The dead zone is caused by an overgrowth of algae that feeds on the nutrients and takes up most of the oxygen in the water.

The authors state that they have provided the first integrated analysis for all coastal areas of the world. They surveyed four key land-based drivers of ecological change: nutrient input from agriculture in urban settings, organic pollutants derived from pesticides; inorganic pollutants from urban runoff; and direct impact of human populations on coastal marine habitats.


- Katrice Jalbuena