Correlations between the Concentrations of Chlorophyll a in Surface Waters and Dissolved Oxygen in Bottom Waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract- Hypoxia is an environmental condition of low concentrations of dissolved oxygen that is detrimental to marine animals. It is a result of excessive input of fluvial nutrients to the coastal environment that leads to rapid growth of phytoplankton. When phytoplankton die and sink, they consume dissolved oxygen during decomposition. Water column stratification, especially a strong stratification in summer, is essential for the development of hypoxia. Seasonal occurrence of hypoxia has been observed in many coastal waters. The most prominent hypoxia in the United States was observed in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. For more than two decades, scientists have been monitoring the hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico by conducting annual ~ 2-week-long cruise in summer and developin