Not all the coastal systems of world are dead zones: A proof from Indian west coast

What is it about?

The present study establishes that the acute oxygen-deficiency experienced along the western continental shelf of India during the summer monsoon is largely driven by the natural oceanographic process of upwelling and is confined to the central-western shelf due to its proximity to the core oxygen minimum zone in the Arabian Sea. Indian west coast is therefore not an anthropogenically driven dead zone but natural processes largely drive its seasonal anoxia formation.

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Why is it important?

Coastal systems around the world are increasingly becoming dead zones due to anthropogenic effects, causing wide environmental issues from breathing less to hubs of greenhouse gas production to fish kills. However, many of late studies are showing this is not true as several estuaries have been found to act as heavy sink zones, filtering or recycling fast the anthropogenic nutrients, thereby a meagre fraction is only being discharged to coastal seas. Parallelly, many coastal systems are also influenced by natural oceanic and atmospheric processes, to large extent they are responsible for changing coastal environments. In view of this, it is highly important to make comprehensive studies to assess the real effect of human influence vs natural processes. In this study, such a comprehensive study was made to prove that Indian west coast is hitherto not significantly influenced by terrestrial inputs but oceanic processes are chiefly responsible for seasonal coastal oxygen depletion.